Interrogating the ‘Criminal Mind’ in a new Psychology module

The relationship between psychology and the law is an ancient one.

Aristotle – in his Nichomachean Ethics written around 340bc – argued that a person should only be considered morally responsible for a crime if, at the time, they were capable of understanding the consequences of their actions and acted without external compulsion. Although this seemingly enlightened view was not incorporated into legal systems until many centuries later, psychological considerations of this kind now play a crucial role in the law – such as:

• the requirement of establishing ‘mens rea’ (‘guilty mind’) for finding a defendant guilty
• the M’Naghton rules, which outline the legal basis for a defence under the Mental Health Act in the UK

There is a need for psychological evidence in – and on - the law, and it is this that gave birth to the discipline of Forensic Psychology.

What is Forensic Psychology?

Forensic psychology is concerned with psychological aspects of legal processes. But the term can refer to any application of psychological research, theory, and methods to issues in crime and criminal justice – such as:

• processes of police investigation
• assessment and treatment of offenders
• understanding the causes and consequences of crime

As professionals, forensic psychologists interact with the criminal justice system in various ways: from working with offenders in prisons, to advising police investigations, to providing expert testimony on psychological matters in the courtroom.

As an area of research, forensic psychology addresses questions such as ‘How do jurors decide on a defendant’s guilt?’, ‘What factors affect the reliability of eyewitness accounts?’, or ‘How can crime-scene evidence be used to understand offenders’ psychological and behavioural traits?’.

These are some of the questions we considered on our new module, PS518: The Criminal Mind.

Creating an in-depth module

With entire degree programs dedicated to its study, forensic psychology is a very substantial area. It would be near impossible to deliver, inside a mere ten lectures, a comprehensive overview of all forensic psychology topics, at least not in much depth.

When we began developing the syllabus for The Criminal Mind, we realised that covering a breadth of topics in a shallow way – presenting facts on many aspects of forensic psychology, without space to delve into those topics in detail - would not make for a satisfying module for final-year students. Instead, we wanted to develop something more sophisticated and involved.

What does the module explore?

The Criminal Mind takes a deep dive into a series of theoretical and applied topics that showcase how psychological research and theory can be applied to some key issues in forensic psychology, across the ‘crime-scene to the courtroom’.

In the spirit of research-led teaching, staff incorporate their own research interests to develop novel and interdisciplinary perspectives, and interrogate a selection of issues at the intersection of psychology, crime, policing and criminal justice.

To name a few topics from the module’s first year:

• Dr Keith May considered the reliability of eyewitnesses vis-à-vis cognitive psychology research on memory and attention;
• Dr Rick O’Gorman delved into the evolutionary bases of violent crime;
• I (Dr Rael Dawtry) considered what research on the psychology of justice reveals about public opinion toward punishment and prisons;
• In a special guest lecture, Dr Megan Harrington-Fletcher (chartered Forensic Psychologist, HM Prison & Probation Services) gave personal insights into professional practice and training in forensic psychology, and the role of forensic psychologists in prisons.

What can Criminal Mind students take away?

Over the course of the module, students learn to link knowledge developed elsewhere in their degree to issues in forensic psychology, and see how their studies can be applied to important real-world issues.

This module is a great starting point for those considering further study in forensic psychology, but also for any student interested in exploring fascinating applications of psychology in the real world.

“Considering this was the first year the module was taught, it was excellently laid out to make it engaging and easy to understand for the students. I liked that there were variety of different topics within the module, such as gender, belief in a just world, and eyewitness testimonies. It helped me understand that crime has a lot of underlying factors that influence it. Furthermore, the lecturers were all very supportive and encouraging to ensure that all pupils were getting the most out of each lecture.” Bethany Morgan, final-year psychology student

We hope our ‘deep dive’ approach provides our students with an engaging experience, as well as offering something unique versus a more traditional ‘Forensic Psychology 101’ style – something we feel more confident about after the encouraging feedback from students on the module’s first run.