Online Criminal Psychology Course

Why do people commit crimes?

There are many different theories and approaches to understanding the origins of criminal behaviour. These range from social learning theories to labelling theory and individual differences. It is important to understand different theories in order to nurture a broad understanding of how crime is conceptualised. Once this is in place you can better understand the thoughts and behaviours of criminals and people who cross the boundary of what is considered acceptable in society.  

Study this course to develop your understanding of criminal psychology and how psychology is used in law enforcement and crime prevention. 

• Learn criminal psychology in this unqiue course

• Understand your clients with issues with crime and behaviour

• Understand aggression

• Build your understanding of people

• Save money and time, study at home

Who should study this?

• Welfare officers

• Youth workers

• Counsellors

• Psychologists

• Support workers

• Advocates

• Legal employees

10 Lessons each with a set task and 10 assignments. You gain strong understanding of areas in criminal psychology such as mental disorders and crime, aggression, gender, youth and crime prevention.

There are 10 lessons in this course:

1. Introduction to Criminal Psychology
   • Definitions of Crime
   • Consensus View of what Crime is
   • Conflict View of Crime
   • Interactionist View of Crime
   • Scope of Criminal Psychology
   • What Criminal Psychologists do
   • Case Study
   • Profiling
   • Courts
   • Correctional System
      
2. Psychological approaches to understanding crime
   • Biological explanations of Crime
   • Phrenology
   • Eugenics
   • XYY Chromosome Model
   • Genetics
   • Twin Studies
   • Adoption Studies
   • Nature, Nurture
   • Environmental Explanations of Crime
   • Family Influence
   • Agency Explanations
   • Rational Choice Theory
      
3. Psychology and understanding serious crimes
   • Aggression
   • Types of Aggression
   • Terminology
   • Drive Theories
   • Freudian Theories
   • Social Learning Theories
   • Biological and Evolutionary Theories
   • Types of Aggression
   • Aggression an against Outsiders
   • Aggression in Species
   • Aggression in Humans
   • Environmental Influences on Human Aggression
   • Imitation or Modelling
   • Familiarity
   • Reinforcement
   • Aggression and Culture
   • Other Factors in Aggression: Alcohol, Pain, Frustration
   • Murder
   • Sexual Assault
   • Stalking
   • Pursuit Behaviour
   • False Stalking Syndrome
      
4. Mental disorder and crime 1 ...Learning disabilities and crime
   • Meaning of Learning Disabilities
   • IQ Testing
   • Crime and Intelligence
   • Modern Intelligence Testing
   • Learning Disabilities and Crime
   • Sex Offences and People with Learning Disabilities
   • Courts
      
5. Mental Disorder and Crime 2 (Psychopathy)
   • Scope and Nature of Psychopathology
   • Personality Disorder
   • Psychopath
   • Heartlessness
   • Emotionless
   • How do People become Psychopaths
   • Treatment
      
6. Gender and Crime
   • Scope and Nature of Gender and Crime studies
   • Rates of Crime
   • Murder and Violence
   • Prostitution
   • Case Study ... Women Offenders
   • Victims
   • Murder
   • Domestic Violence
   • Sexual Abuse
      
7. Youth and Crime
   • Age of Criminal Responsibility
   • Risk Factors
   • Mental Health Risk
   • Conduct Disorders
   • ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)
   • Cumulative Affect of Risk Factors
   • Prevalence and Offending
   • Case Studies
   • Young People as Victims
      
8. Psychology and the Police
   • Social Construction of Reported Crime
   • Eyewitness Testimony
   • Early Research
   • Schemas and EWT
   • Police Line Ups
   • Every day Uses of Psychology by Police
      
9. Psychology in the Courtroom
   • Social Cognition
   • Behaviour
   • Appearance
   • Expectations
   • The Primacy Effect
   • Attribution
   • Schemas and Social Perception
   • Central Traits
   • Stereotypes
   • Social Inference and Decision Making
   • Psychology and the Law
   • Guilt Bias
   • Media Effect
   • Defendant Attributes
   • Attorney Attributes
      
10. Psychology and Crime Prevention
    • Punishment
    • Types of Punishment
    • History of Punishment
    • Reasons for Punishment
    • Deterrents
    • Punishment and Impartiality

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

Aims:

• Define crime and criminal psychology.
• Discuss psychological theories and approaches to understanding crime.
• Define serious crimes and explain the involvement of psychology.
• Discuss the relationship between a person having a learning disability and committing crime.
• Define psychopathy and discuss psychological theories relating to psychopathy.
• Discuss gender differences associated with crime.
• Discuss the psychological theories relating to youth and crime.
• Discuss how psychology is used by the police.
• Discuss how psychology is used in the court room.
• Discuss the use of psychology in crime prevention.

Request your free information pack today!