Criminology Department - CRIM 2330
Psychological Explanations of Criminal Behaviour
January 2014
Instructor: Dr. Lyne Piché
Phone: 3364 or voicemail at 9236
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 (Fall
2013).
Any additional readings that are assigned will be made available by the
instructor.
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 (10%):
The purpose of this assignment is to think conceptually, creatively, and
critically about this course. Begin with the premise that if I were to teach a
class or a topic for the Psychological Explanations of Criminal Behaviour course
I would: (for example)
 discuss the following topic(s) and or theories:
 incorporate research and or methodological issues pertaining to:
 show the documentary (or documentaries), or film(s):
 review the profile(s) of the following offender(s):
 expand on the material by:
You need only choose one of the these ideas. 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 will need to not only discuss your idea(s) but also 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.
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).
This assignment will be completed in teams of 3 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. 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 the CRIM 2330 course
website or 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. 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 (25%)
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 a serious 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 make 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
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 and to the Essay Verification
Engine Version which is a tool used to detect plagiarism both from published
and web materials.
Summary
Individual Written Assignment (10%)
Group Research Assignment (25%)
In class Group Assignments (15%)
Midterm (25%)
Final (25%)
SCHEDULE
WEEK
1
DATE
January
9
SUBJECT
Introduction
Required
reading
2
January
16
Biology
Required
reading
3
January
23
Biology – Gene and environmental interactions
Required
reading
4
January
30
Developmental pathways
Required
reading
5
Feb 6
Learning and the Social environment Individual Written Assignment Due
today
Required
reading
6
7
8
9
Feb 13
Feb 20
Feb 27
March 6
Required
reading
Reading Week – No class
Midterm
Personality Disorders
Psychopathy
10
March
13
Mental Disorders and Dangerousness
Required
reading
11
March
20
Substance Abuse and Economic Crime
Group Research Assignment Due today
Required
reading
12
13
March
27
April 3
Violence and Homicide
Sexual Offenders
Required
reading
14
April 10
Final