BSc (Hons) Criminology and Forensic Psychology

Analysing Attitudes to Work & Performance

This module helps define a range of everyday experiences using psychological models of attitudes, as you learn how to analyse attitudes and explore psychological constructs, methodology and theories associated with experiences. Fundamental data analysis skills will be developed through lectures and the use of statistical software, with a focus on understanding patterns of data via visualisation.

Assessment

You will be assessed through a coursework assignment and a practical report.

Crime and Society

This module examines how society manages crime and criminals and introduces you to the wider judicial and prison systems.

You will consider:

• The role of the media
• Moral panics
• Emerging crimes
• World approaches to crime.

Crime, Diversity and Duty of Care

This module will explore the broad concepts that underpin human rights, diversity and duty of care.

You will focus on the development of social identities and the relationship between diversity, discrimination and oppression.

Your research will be based on the initial premise that British society is diverse and includes a wide variety of cultures and will explore racism to exemplify the impact of oppression on marginalised people.

Experimental Design in Context: Usability and Cognition

This module explores functions and experiences relevant to using technology, focusing on the criteria used to assess technology’s usability and how human limitations relate to this usability and usage. You will be introduced to certain psychological theories and empirical findings from investigations into information processing by the mind, and discuss a range of methodologies and analyses such as laboratory experimentation and inferential statistics.

Assessment

You will be assessed through a practical report and research participation.

Perspectives On Psychology

This module seeks to enable you to understand the contribution of key thinkers to the development of modern psychology and to appreciate their biographical backgrounds. The lives and work of key thinkers will be introduced and contextualised with reference to contemporary ideas and more.

Study & Research Skills for Social Scientists

This module is an opportunity to advance your personal, research and study skills and will support other content-led teaching. You will be assessed through a report and research participation.

The Study of Human Interaction

This module explores the functions of understanding relationships. You will study the processes related to forming an impression of someone and forming a relationship with them through a variety of behaviours.

Certain psychological theories and empirical findings will form investigations into attraction, prejudice and stereotyping, and a range of methodologies and analyses, such as interviewing, content analysis and observational approaches will be explored.

Biological Psychology

This module explores the ways biological processes have been studied, for example through brain lesions and cell stimulation methodologies.

The areas of behavioural genetics, neuro-imaging, neuropsychology, socio-biology and evolutionary psychology will be investigated in terms of underlying theory and empirical research.

Cognitive Psychology

This module will introduce you to the ways cognitive processes have been studied in the past. This includes studying experimental and cognitive neuropsychological methodologies. You will investigate the areas of attention, perception, learning, thinking and language and relate your findings to underlying theory and empirical research.

Developmental Psychology

This module explores the study of development and maturation in cognitive, personality and social processes, as well as introduces you to basic theory, research findings and methods of investigation in childhood, adolescence and lifespan development.

You will consider the ways in which behaviour is influenced by developmental factors, the nature of developmental processes and the ways in which empirical research can help us to understand how developmental processes influence what we do.

Individual Differences Psychology

On this module, you will be introduced to how individual differences processes have been studied in the past, for example through psychometrics and case study methodologies.

You will investigate areas of personality, intelligence, cognitive style, motivation, gender, and ethnicity in terms of underlying theory and empirical research.

Assessment

You will be assessed through an essay and a lab report.

Legal Frameworks

You will consider the legal system in the UK to broaden your knowledge and situate your learning in the current legal context. You will focus on criminal law, how it is dealt with in the UK and the legally mandated roles associated with it.

Mental Health and Forensic Psychology

This module is an opportunity to explore a comprehensive range of key constructs, theories, and research in mental health and forensic psychology. You will examine the numerous ways that psychological research, methods, and expertise are applied to the study of criminal behaviour and the issues that psychopathology create within the context of the criminal justice system.

Research Methods: Experimental Designs & Analysis

This module will develop your understanding of experimental designs and associated methods of analysis, and introduce you to research ethics.

Research Methods: Survey and Qualitative Designs and Analysis

The module aims to develop your understanding of survey and qualitative designs and associated methods of analysis.

Criminology in Professional Practice

This will introduce you to the practice in real life of criminology and give you an idea of where you could apply your skills.

You will explore jobs relating to criminology degrees, including:

• Community development worker
• Detective
• Police officer
• Prison officer
• Probation officer
• Social worker
• Youth worker.

Independent Project

In this module, you are encouraged to adopt a problem-oriented approach. The first stage is to identify a problem in psychology of interest and relevance to your studies.

You will determine an appropriate approach to addressing the problem through discussion with tutors who have relevant theoretical and practical expertise.

Your investigation may be based within a single discipline, or it may involve more than one discipline, but it must be based within your chosen degree programme.

Project Management and Presentation Skills

This project will support you to develop a wide range of skills from project management to the ability to present your research results in an accessible form. You will develop their scientific reasoning and reporting skills and produce a poster to present your research work.

Psychology in Context: Professional Skills in Psychology

You will consider some of the key methods and assessment techniques commonly used by psychologists in their daily working lives.

This module will introduce some of the key principles of effective counselling psychology and the importance of empathy and positive regard to the success of the therapeutic relationship. You will identify effective interviewing skills for psychologists and participate in a recorded interviewing session.

Assessment

You will be assessed through a clinical interview report and test administration report.

Sexual Offenders: Across the Life Course

This module will introduce you to the theoretical models that underpin sexually problematic behaviours perpetrated across the life course, while considering the typology of offenders in this cohort.

Young People and Crime

You will examine the factors that contribute to young people becoming involved in crime and consider crimes committed against them. You will explore the Youth Justice System in the UK and the interventions offered to young people to reduce their offending behaviour.