Psychology of Criminal Behaviour

• Credit value: 30 credits at Level 4
• Convenor: Lizzie Hughes
• Assessment: a 750-word draft blog (20%), 750-word final blog (60%) and 200-word reflective piece (20%)

In this interdisciplinary module we critically explore the relationship between psychology and criminology through a wide range of topics and real-world problems.

We offer a theoretical overview of the field, in particular psychosocial explanations of why people commit crime. We take groups such as youth gangs, serial killers and the 'mentally unwell offender' to examine the psychosocial contexts of these phenomena and ask questions such as:

• Why do young people join gangs?
• Do structural inequalities enable serial killers?
• How are mental health problems criminalised through psychology?

We also study the three arms of the criminal justice system, exploring:

• whether there is such a thing as a 'police personality'
• issues with eyewitness testimonies and juries in the courtroom
• the psychological harms of prison, and alternatives from a psych-abolition perspective.

You will then write a blog post for a non-specialist audience about one of these topics, as well as a short piece reflecting on your studies during this module.

Teaching is through group work, informal presentations and peer-feedback workshops, and we will read a range of academic texts from the disciplines of psychology, criminology and sociology, accompanied by news media reports, podcasts, videos and other relevant non-academic sources.