From prison to PhD

He was once a troubled, drug-addicted youth; now his research is being used to help employers select the right people for the job and improve the prospects of Maori.

Last week, Dr Paul Wood received his PhD in psychology at Massey’s Wellington graduation ceremony. Although it is his third degree, this is the first time Dr Wood has been able to graduate in person. Previously, he had been serving a lengthy jail sentence for an altercation that led to the death of his drug dealer.

At the time of his offending, in 1995, Dr Wood was a high school dropout with a serious morphine habit. Three years into his sentence, he began extramural study of psychology through Massey. “I wrote my first assignment as a single block of text all in capital letters, I didn’t have a clue what constituted a paragraph and I thought capitals looked neater. Fortunately I always received gracious and constructive feedback from my markers."

By 2003, Dr Wood had completed a BA in psychology and philosophy. By 2005, he had a Master’s degree, also done extramurally. “I was not in a position to attend block courses outside prison, so relevant lecturers created equivalent special topic papers for me on top of their ordinary workload. When it came to the PhD, my supervisors would travel to Rimutaka Prison to discuss my research with me.”

Dr Wood’s doctoral research explored relationships between people's personality traits, intelligence, and tendency towards counterproductive workplace behaviour. Through an understanding of these relationships, he looked at ways to improve the effectiveness of psychometric testing for workplace selection. In particular, he investigated how these tests could be used in more sophisticated ways than has generally been the case. As part of this, he sought to determine how different combinations of tests might improve hiring rates for Maori.

After his release from prison, Dr Wood gained employment as a consultant in organisational psychology.  He is now a development specialist with a passion for helping individuals and organisations reach their goals. He also regularly works in the accreditation and training of people who administer and interpret psychometric tests.

According to Dr Wood, there are three key ingredients to successful, lasting change:

1. Desire to change. You have to want it.
2. Clear direction. You have to understand the steps you can take to make things different.
3. A supportive environment. You need opportunities that facilitate, reinforce and encourage your change.

"I would not have achieved what I have today without the support and opportunities provided by Massey. Massey was instrumental in enabling me to turn my life around."