Criminology Department - CRIM 2330
Psychological Explanations of Criminal Behaviour
Winter 2015
Tuesday @ 19:00 - 21:50 - Room: FIR 118
Instructor: Dr. Lyne Piché
Phone: 778-552-6747
Email: Lyne.Piche@kpu.ca
Course Description: Students will receive an introduction to and critical
examination of neurophysiological, bio-genetic, psychiatric, and psychological
explanations of deviant and criminal behaviour. Special attention will be given to
research that is exploring associations between criminality and genetics, brain
chemistry, the endocrine system, mental disorders, personality, moral development,
and various forms of social learning.
Course Objectives: Students will examine sources of individual variation in
criminal conduct from a psychological perspective. The course will have two
main components. In the first component of the course, students will be
introduced to major psychological explanations of crime and criminality. The
second component of the course will focus on particular types and causal
features of criminal behaviour and offenders that are relevant to psychologists,
including violent offenders, addictions, sexual offending, and domestic violence.
The duties of psychologists in various forensic settings will also be examined.
Contact Information: You are welcome to speak to me before class, after class,
or to make an appointment to discuss course matters. When emailing, please
type in the course number and section in the subject heading. Keep your
messages/inquiries brief and to the point. Please do not ask for information
that can be found on the course outline. Do not forward assignments by email
and do not ask for your grades by email. If you have missed classes, it is your
responsibility to obtain notes from a fellow student. Do not email me asking
what you have missed or for copies of my lecture notes.
Required Text:
Course Readings for Psychological Explanations of Criminal Behaviour.
Suggested Text:
Serin, Forth, Brown, Nunes et al. (2010) Psychology of Criminal Behavior: A Canadian
Perspective. Pearson (Toronto).
The instructor will make any additional readings that are assigned available to
you.
Course Readings & Lectures: A summary of the course topics and a list of
preliminary required readings are provided below. In addition to readings from
the textbook, there may be scholarly articles, newspaper articles, and handouts,
etc. assigned to students as part of the required course readings. Lectures and
reading assignments are designed to complement one another and facilitate
student learning of the course material. To maximize success in this course,
students need to attend class lectures regularly and complete pre-assigned
course readings before lecture. The lecture material will not necessarily review
or cover the assigned readings.
Individual written assignment (25%):
The purpose of this assignment is to think conceptually, creatively, and
critically about this course. Present a topic that would be relevant to the
Psychological Explanations of Criminal Behaviour course. For example, the
topic could include (these are only examples)
 Discussing a specific topic or theory (be specific and detailed)
 Explain a research or methodological issue pertaining to a specific topic
of interest
 Integration of specific documentary, film or books (explaining why, the
pertinence and the theories behind these choices)
 review the profile(s) of specific offender typologies while explaining why
these are related to a topic examined in class
 expand on the material discussed in class by adding research, discussion
and exploration based on peer based research
You need only choose one of these ideas or expand on your own idea (discuss
these original ideas with the instructor prior to submitting your work).
Regardless of the idea(s) you have, you need to explain your rationale and or
support/quantify them by incorporating information from at least five different
references (i.e., articles, books) in addition to the source of your idea (i.e., film,
documentary, novel, profiles). You must attach the references to the back of
your report. You need to provide a photocopy of the first page of each research
paper (abstract page). Do not use Internet articles as your research base. You
will need to discuss your idea(s) and can also indicate when and how you would
incorporate the material into the course. The assignment will evaluated
according to its creativity, rationale, merit, and critical analysis. Reiterating
what has covered in class will not earn a favourable evaluation/grade. Please
note: You must attach copies of the abstracts of the articles cited in your paper
with your paper.
Group research Assignment (25%):
The purpose of this assignment is to provide an integrated review of the
research in area of the Psychological Explanations of Criminal Behaviour. Your
research paper must be based on at least ten peer reviewed research based
articles (Wikipedia and the internet articles are not acceptable sources). You
must attach the references to the back of your report. You need to provide a
photocopy of the first page of the research paper (abstract page) you cited as
well as building a bibliography.
This assignment will be completed in teams of 2 to 4 students.
Examples of acceptable research topics/questions:
1. Can or should psychopathy be diagnosed/classified in children or
adolescents?
2. Develop a reasonable treatment plan for a violent psychopathic male with
appropriate justifications of your treatment modules.
3. In what circumstances can pornography lead to sexual aggression?
4. When does having a mental illness increase the probability of violence?
5. What are the difficulties associated with the assessment of sexual
deviance?
6. In what instances, can violent and/or sexual recidivism be predicted?
These paper topics address specific questions. Other research questions may be
appropriate but need to be approved by your instructor beforehand. Please
note: You must attach copies of the abstracts of the articles cited in your paper
with your paper.
Technical Requirements: Your assignments should conform to the American
Psychological Association (APA) referencing style. There is a helpful APA
referencing style information sheet that may be obtained from Kwantlen’s
library. You should use a Times New Roman, font size 12, with 1 inch margins
on all sides of your paper. Include a title page with your names, student ID,
course number, and educational institution. Include a bibliography. Please do
not use plastic binders.
In Class Group Assignments (15%)
For some topics, questions based on the readings and/or other course material
will be handed out in-class. It is important that you bring your course reader to
class. You will be given time in class to answer the question(s) and hand in a
written group response and the assigned questions will assist in preparing for
the exams. Students who miss classes where group assignments are handed
out will not be able to make up the missed assignment marks.
Examinations
Midterm quiz (25%)
Final quiz (10%)
There are two examinations in this course. Each will consist of a variety of
question formats (e.g., multiple choice, short answer questions, fill-in-theblanks, longer essay-type questions). All material assigned to students for study
outside of class as well as material presented in class is examinable including
lectures, assigned readings, class discussions, videos, etc. It is your
responsibility to attend classes to obtain information discussed in class. Both
examinations will be closed book.
Grade Assignment
Letter grades will be assigned will be based on your performance in fulfilling the
requirements listed above. Letter grades will be assigned as follows:
A+ = 90 to
100
B+ = 76 to 79
C+ = 64 to 67
A = 85 to 89
B = 72 to 75
C = 60 to 63
A- = 80 to 84
B- = 68 to 71
C- = 56 to 59
D = 50 to 55
F = 0 to 49
Policy On Late Assignments And Missed Exams:
Assignments are due in class on the assigned date. Assignments that are not
handed in to the instructor before the end of class on the assigned date will be
considered late and penalized 2 marks per day. I will not be responsible for
papers that are not handed to me personally. Assignments that are not received
by the instructor within seven days of the due date will not normally be marked
unless prior arrangements are made with the instructor. Extensions will be
granted only in exceptional circumstances. Students requesting an extension
must be prepared to provide satisfactory documentation concerning the nature
of their circumstances. For your own protection, you must retain both your
research notes and a hard copy of your papers, and must be able to produce
them when requested. Disk or computer failure is not a legitimate excuse for
not having a back-up copy of your notes or final paper.
Students who miss a scheduled examination due to an exceptional medical or
family emergency may be permitted to write a make-up examination. Students
should contact the instructor in advance of their expected absence to explain
the nature of their circumstances and to discuss the possibility of alternative
arrangements. Students who are unable to provide documentation satisfactory
to the instructor supporting the nature of the circumstances surrounding their
absence from an examination may be given a grade of zero.
Plagiarism and Cheating
Please see www.kwantlen.ca/policies to review the KPU policy on cheating (C.8)
in its entirety.
Definitions:
Cheating, which includes plagiarism, occurs where a student or group of
students uses of attempts to use unauthorized aids, assistance, materials, or
methods. Cheating is a serious educational offence.
Plagiarism occurs where a student represents the work of another person as his
or her own
Examples of Plagiarism:
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Borrowing the ideas, theories, illustrations, lab data, or language of others,
in whole or in part, without properly quoting and citing the source within
the text of the paper
Substantially paraphrasing without acknowledging the source, even though
you have used your own words
Using synonyms to change words within a phrase or sentence derived from
another source and then treating the phrase or sentence as if it were your
own
Submitting an assignment, in whole or in part, that was previously graded
in another course whether or not the other course was taught at Kwantlen
Note that Kwantlen instructors have access to the Essay Verification Engine
Version which is a tool used to detect plagiarism both from published and web
materials.
Summary
Individual Written Assignment (25%)
Group Research Assignment (25%)
In class Group Assignments (15%)
Midterm (25%)
Final (10%)
Last day to withdraw is on March 2, 2015
SCHEDULE
WEEK
1
DATE
January
6
SUBJECT
Introduction
Required
reading
2
January
13
Biology
Required
reading
3
January
20
Biology – Gene and environmental interactions
Required
reading
4
January
27
Developmental pathways
Required
reading
5
Feb 3
Learning and the Social environment
Individual Written Assignment Due today (25%)
Required
reading
6
7
8
9
Feb 10
Feb 17
Feb 24
Mar 3
Personality Disorders
Midterm Quiz (25%)
Reading Week – no class
Psychopathy
Required
reading
Required
reading
Hare R.D. (1993). The profile: Lifestyle. In R.D. Hare, Without conscience: The disturbing world
of the psychopaths amoung us (pp. 57-70). New York: Simon & Schuster Inc.
10
Mar 10
Mental Disorders and Dangerousness
Required
reading
11
Mar 17
Violence and Homicide – Guest lecturer
Required
reading
Serin, Forth & al. Violent Offending: General Violence and Homicide, Chapter 7, in Serin,
Forth, Brown, Nunes et al. (2010) Psychology of Criminal Behavior: A Canadian
Perspective. Pearson (Toronto).
Beauregard & Martineau (2012). A Descriptive Study of Sexual Homicide in Canada:
Implications for Police. International Journal Offender Therapy Comparative
Criminology. 1454-1476.
12
Mar 24
Sexual Offenders
Group Research Assignment Due today (25%)
Required
reading
Optional
reading
13
Ogas & Gaddam (2012). A Billion Wicked Thoughts: What the Internet Tells Us about Sexual
Relationships. Plume.
Substance Abuse and Economic Crime
Required
reading
14
15
April 14
Review Class
Final Quiz (10%)