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PSYC3961: Forensic Psychology

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Type Open
Level 3
Credits 20
Availability Available in 2025/2026
Module Cap
Location Durham
Department Psychology

Prerequisites

  • 60 credits from Level 2 Psychology

Corequisites

  • None

Excluded Combinations of Modules

  • None

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

Subject-specific Knowledge:

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

Subject-specific Skills:

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

Key Skills:

  • 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 students communication skills.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

ActivityNumberFrequencyDurationTotalMonitored
Lectures221 per week2 hours44 
Preparation and Reading156 
Total200 

Summative Assessment

Component: AssignmentComponent Weighting: 30%
ElementLength / DurationElement WeightingResit Opportunity
Essay1500 words100
Component: ExaminationComponent Weighting: 70%
ElementLength / DurationElement WeightingResit Opportunity
Online Examination2 hours100

Formative Assessment

None

More information

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