Psychodiagnostics and Differentiated Approach Criteria in Penitentiary Psychology

Introduction: the problem of identifying aggressiveness and criminal inclinations remains relevant in modern penitentiary science. Many psychologists have been using psychological diagnostic methods for many years, however, the number of works in the field of criminal personality psychology is insufficient. The author presents her own experience of studying personal characteristics of convicts in the process of determining the degree of aggressive manifestations and antisocial orientation. Purpose: description of a number of psychodiagnostic techniques that allow identifying personality traits in various groups of offenders, determination of psychodiagnostic criteria to distinguish the contingent of criminally inclined offenders from non-aggressive and non-antisocial ones. Results and discussion: humanization of the penitentiary system requires application of pedagogical measures in relation to the supervisory staff of the Federal Penitentiary Service. Based on the studied reference groups, the author has developed a set of computerized techniques to determine the severity of individual aggressiveness and the ability of its self-control in office situations. Conclusion: relying on many-year experience, the author proposes psychodiagnostic criteria that will help psychologists and educators to implement a differentiated approach to those serving sentences, thus improving the correctional function of the penitentiary system.