Evaluating Cognitive Skills
Programs: Issues, Effectiveness, and
Potential Future Directions
Dr. Jeffrey Pfeifer
Justin Trounson & Lucy Maxwell
Swinburne University of Technology
Melbourne, Australia
*Industry Partner: G4S & Port Phillip Prison
Historical Summary: Effective
Learning
Physical Needs & Education (1960’s)
• Largely based on the work of Abraham
Maslow and his Hierarchy of Needs
• Results in research suggesting that a
child’s ability to succeed in an educational
environment (psychological needs) is
detrimentally impacted if they are
experiencing physiological needs (e.g.,
hunger)
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Cognitive Skills & Education (1970’s/80’s)
• Research by educational psychologists
indicates that the educational success of a
child is linked to his or her ability to,
“cognitively understand and process the
information provided through the teaching
experience” (i.e., having the core skills to
learn)
Cognitive Skills Related to Learning
• Locus of Control
• Self-Regulation
• Self-Esteem
• Cognitive Distortions
• Life Problem-Solving
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Application to Offending (1980’s to present)
Early research based on applying the
principles of cognitive skills and learning to
juvenile offenders
Addition of a number of criminogenic
components, including:
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Moral Reasoning
Risk/Sensation Thinking
Impulsiveness
Social Problem Solving
Attitudes
Extended to adult offender populations
(mostly male) and additional components
added, including:
• Empathy
• Conflict Resolution
• Anti-Social Behaviour
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Results in the development of a number of
cognitive skills programs for offenders
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Reasoning & Rehabilitation
Moral Reconation Therapy
Think First
Cognitive Skills
Offending is Not the Only
Choice
STOP
For a Change
Enhance Thinking Skills
T4C
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Interactive Journaling
Family Centered Cognitive
Skills Program
EQUIP
Adult Cognitive Skills Life
Home Study Course
Offence-Focused Problem
Solving Program
Cognitive Skills: Then and Now
Learning Skills vs Therapeutic Intervention
• the initial research/practice (education) on
cognitive skills was driven by a learning
model, NOT a therapeutic model
• the majority of cognitive skills programs
for offenders blur the line between
learning aspects and therapeutic aspects
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Theory of Change Model vs Recidivism
• the initial research/practice embraced a
theory of change model, suggesting that
the encouragement of cognitive skills in a
child would increase his or her ability to
perform at a better level in school (it did
not guarantee a passing grade) and that
the addition of cognitive skills may
enhance the: beliefs, attitudes, decisions,
and/or behaviours of children in a positive
way
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the majority of cognitive skills programs
assess (i.e., research and evaluation)
success solely through behavioural
indicators, with a heavy emphasis on
recidivism rates
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Standardized vs Non- Standardized
Assessments
• the initial research/practice employed a
small, identifiable set of assessment
instruments that were valid, reliable, and
standardized and results were published in
peer-reviewed journals
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current assessments of cognitive skills
program for offenders employ a variety of
assessment techniques which vary
significantly with regard to validity,
reliability and standardization and there is
a relatively small amount of evidence
found in peer-reviewed journals
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Peer-Reviewed Published Articles
With Data (N = 38)
Reasoning & Rehabilitation
(14)
Moral Reconation Therapy
(5)
Think First (3)
Cognitive Skills (0)
Offending is Not the Only
Choice (0)
STOP (2)
For a Change (1)
Enhance Thinking Skills (0)
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T4C (11)
Interactive Journaling (0)
Family Centered Cognitive
Skills Program (0)
EQUIP (1)
Adult Cognitive Skills Life
Home Study Course (0)
Offence-Focused Problem
Solving Program (1)
Summary of Research
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38 Peer-Reviewed Published Articles
Presenting Data
21 published articles summarizing findings
(no original data)
Of the 38 articles, 29 measure recidivism
and only 6 measure an additional
component (e.g., locus of control,
attitudes toward crime)
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Therefore, in the past 30 years, very few
articles have been published that examine
the impact of a cognitive skills program on
something other than recidivism
Cognitive Skills Programs & Corrections:
The Tail Wagging the Dog???
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Where to From Here?
The information presented leads to a
number of questions:
• Is there a need to return to the original
intent of cognitive skills programs as a
learning-based intervention that focuses
on developing the core cognitive skills
necessary to increase the effectiveness of
subsequent interventions (teachings)?
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If yes, then we need to create a clear and
concise goal to guide the development,
implementation, and evaluation of
cognitive skills programs.
When considering this question, important
to remember that there are a number of
studies indicating that the successful
completion of a cognitive skills program is
positive correlated to an individual’s
subsequent success in a therapeutic
program
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How Should the Success of
Cognitive Skills Programs be
Measured (Evaluated)?
There is a need for a current, specific,
criminogenically-based, valid, reliable and
standardized instrument that indicates
impact at a number of levels
Current – inclusion of updated concepts
Specific – identification & inclusion of
specific core components
Criminogenically-Based – linked to
criminogenic concepts & questions
adapted to an offender population
Valid – measures actual cognitive skills
Reliable – the instrument yields consistent
results
Standardized – provides comparison to a
normative population
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Emotional Intelligence
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Revolves around the degree to which an
individual is able to: recognize their own
emotions, control their emotions, and
recognize the emotions of others
Offenders (sexual assault, domestic
violence) 16.6
General population (matched sample) 25.4
Offenders (contract killers, fraud) 31.3
Cognitive Skills - Core Assessment
Tool (CS-CAT)
Currently in development (Pfeifer, 2013)
Composed of 6 core cognitive skills
Reliability and validity studies currently
being conducted with a normative
population
Provides standardized scores – Gender/Age
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What are the Core Cognitive Skills?
Current components that retain empirical support:
• Problem Recognition & Acceptance
• Emotional Intelligence & Regulation
• Basic Decision-Making Capability
• Locus of Control
• Openness to Intervention
• Motivation & Resilience
Thank you
Email: [email protected]
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