Module PSYC3961: Forensic Psychology

Department: Psychology

PSYC3961: Forensic Psychology

Pre-requisites

Corequisites

Excluded Combinations

Aims

• This module aims to equip students with a foundational understanding of key concepts, research methodologies, and theoretical approaches within the field of forensic psychology.

Content

• The module will cover a selection of topics in Forensic Psychology paying particular attention to the way in which empirical studies and theory derived from fundamental psychological science can be applied to understanding these topics. The topics covered will be drawn from areas such as:
• Introduction to Legal and Criminological Psychology
• Theories of crime and offending
• Legal decision making
• Offender profiling
• Deception detection
• Investigative interviewing
• Eyewitness memory
• Women prisoners
• Psychological assessment
• Risk assessment
• Sexual offending at universities
• Suicide and self-harm in prisons
• Dog training programmes in prisons

Learning Outcomes

• Detailed knowledge of forensic psychology including current theory, evidence, and research methods.
• In-depth knowledge of specialist areas of applied psychology.

• Ability to review critically and consolidate understanding of a coherent body of psychological knowledge and apply it appropriately.

• Good written communication skills.
• Ability to work independently in scholarship and research within broad guidelines.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Knowledge and understanding are developed through lectures, within-lecture interactive activities such as student discussion, audio-visual materials, and reading lists.
• All modes of teaching are designed to promote critical evaluation of evidence and arguments, the adoption of different theoretical positions, and the interpretation of empirical work in terms of theory.
• These abilities are assessed via the written assignment and examination, which also assess student’s communication skills.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment

None