Dean J. Wilkinson

Good Vibrations: positive change through social music-making

Good Vibrations is a charity that runs gamelan projects with offenders in prison and on probation. A recent Birmingham City University study investigating the short-, medium- and long-term impact of the project found that participation in a Good Vibrations project acted as a catalyst for positive change. The research found that not only did participants feel more able to communicate with other offenders within the project, they found confidence in their own voice so as to continue to develop their communication and coping skills within prison and as ex-offenders in the community. Furthermore, the project contributed to the development of anger management skills and provided an outlet for self-expression leading to a feeling of ‘being normal’. This article presents the findings of the study, and considers why Good Vibrations inspires positive change. Using a three-dimensional model of Activity Theory, the concept of learning through social music-making is explored in terms of how the individual interacts with the social environment in order to develop skills and how participation in a musical learning activity can lead to a positive change of identity.

The Relationship Between Nonclinical Schizotypy and Handedness on Divergent and Convergent Creative Problem-Solving Tasks

Previous research indicated a relationship between hemispherical dominance, the extent of schizotypal tendencies, and creativity. Little research has been conducted to assess the degree of schizotypy in nonclinical samples. The aim of this study was to determine the extent to which measures of multidimensional schizotypy and predominant handedness could predict measures of creativity, as assessed by both divergent and convergent tasks. One hundred and twenty-six participants participated in a quasi-experiment involving tests of predominant handedness, schizotypal tendencies, and divergent and convergent thinking. Results suggest that individuals who scored high on a test for schizotypal tendencies performed better on divergent problem-solving tasks, as opposed to low scoring individuals who performed better on convergent problem-solving tasks. Furthermore, results suggest that there was relationship between handedness on divergent and convergent thinking. There was, however, a relationship between handedness (right hemisphere) on the degree of schizotypal tendencies with left-handed individuals demonstrating greater schizotypal tendencies.

Time to Reason About Crime: Assessing the Impact of Schizotypal Tendencies on a Crime‐Based Reasoning Task

There is a wealth of evidence that suggests that individuals with high schizotypal tendencies experience a number of biases when reasoning (Galbraith, Manktelow and Morris 2008; Dudley et al. 1997; Garety 1991). This study employs a non-clinical sample, screened for schizotypal tendencies to assess how delusional ideation impacts upon an individuals ability to reason about crime-based scenarios. Qualitative differences were found between high and low scorers in terms of the strategies and methods employed to reason about criminal behaviour. Future research needs to consider the creation of tests with greater sensitivity in order to assess and discover the boundaries of where reasoning biases occur.

Exploring alternative terrain in the rehabilitation and treatment of offenders: Findings from a prison-based music project

ABSTRACT The arts in prison settings have provided an alternative or complimentary component to rehabilitation. Despite increased interest, studies capturing the voice of offenders participating in projects and the long-term impact are limited. Data from semistructured interviews with 18 men who had taken part in a music-based project while incarcerated, including one group of five participants who were tracked for 18 months with supplemented data from correctional staff and official documentation, is presented. Participants of the art-based projects comment on changes they believe to have derived from participating in the project, particularly relating to emotions, self-esteem, self-confidence, communication and social skills. An exoffender sample of participants reported that participation in art projects provide experiences that promote beneficial skills that have been useful for post prison life.

Investigating Schizotypy and Crime‐Based Reasoning with Qualitative Methods

Qualitative data are presented following a series of four studies where participants completed a quantitative reasoning task followed by either an interview or an audio diary. Qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke 2006)with three main themes emerging: emotions; reasoning approach; and justifications. High schizotypal scorers demonstrated limited emotional responses compared with low scorers,and where emotions were expressed, individuals made these in relation to themselves rather than the presented scenario. Results contribute to a better understanding of the biases that high-scoring individuals experience and provide further evidence for ‘jump to conclusions’ biases in reasoning about crime.

The Perceived Benefits of an Arts Project for Health and Wellbeing of Older Offenders

The increasing ageing prison population is becoming a pressing issue throughout the criminal justice system. Alongside the rising population, are a host of health and wellbeing issues that contribute to older offenders needs whilst in prison. It has been recommended that meaningful activities can have positive effects on this population and therefore this paper uniquely reviews older offenders accounts of taking part in an arts based project, Good Vibrations, whilst imprisoned. The Good Vibrations project engages individuals in Gamelan music making with an end of project performance. This study used independent in-depth interviews to capture the voices of older offenders who took part in an art based prison project. The interview data was analysed using thematic analysis, which highlighted themes that were consistent with other populations who have taken part in a Good Vibrations project, along with specific age relating issues of mobility, motivation, identity and wellbeing.

Delusional ideation, cognitive processes and crime based reasoning

Probabilistic reasoning biases have been widely associated with levels of delusional belief ideation (Galbraith, Manktelow, & Morris, 2010; Lincoln, Ziegler, Mehl, & Rief, 2010; Speechley, Whitman, & Woodward, 2010; White & Mansell, 2009), however, little research has focused on biases occurring during every day reasoning (Galbraith, Manktelow, & Morris, 2011), and moral and crime based reasoning (Wilkinson, Caulfield, & Jones, 2014; Wilkinson, Jones, & Caulfield, 2011). 235 participants were recruited across four experiments exploring crime based reasoning through different modalities and dual processing tasks. Study one explored delusional ideation when completing a visually presented crime based reasoning task. Study two explored the same task in an auditory presentation. Study three utilised a dual task paradigm to explore modality and executive functioning. Study four extended this paradigm to the auditory modality. The results indicated that modality and delusional ideation have a significant effect on individuals reasoning about violent and non-violent crime (p < .05), which could have implication for the presentation of evidence in applied setting such as the courtroom.