Psychology 3314G Course Syllabus 1 Dr. Peter Hoaken

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1 1.0 CALENDAR DESCRIPTION THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO LONDON CANADA Department of Psychology Psychology 3314G (formerly 368G & 3390G) Section 001 Forensic Psychology Psychology 3314G Course Syllabus 1 This course introduces students to central issues in the area of forensic psychology, including recent theoretical and research developments. Topics include detecting deception, eyewitness testimony, investigative interviewing, roles and responsibilities, offender profiling, correctional psychology, risk assessment, victims of crime, and fitness to stand trial. Prerequisite: Psychology 2820E or both Psychology 2800E and 2810 Antirequisites: 3390G if taken in 2008, 2011 and 2012, 468G if taken in Brescia College Psychology 3313A; King s College Psychology 3313A 3 seminar hours, 0.5 course Unless you have either the requisites for this course or written special permission from your Dean to enrol in it, you may be removed from this course and it will be deleted from your record. This decision may not be appealed. You will receive no adjustment to your fees in the event that you are dropped from a course for failing to have the necessary prerequisites. 2.0 COURSE INFORMATION Instructor: Office and Phone Number: WH x Office Hours: Thursday, 1:30pm -3:30pm [email protected] Teaching Assistant: Kim Edwards [email protected] Office Hours: By appointment Time and Location of Lectures: Thursday, 9:30 am 12:30 am, SSC 3026 Please contact the course instructor if you require material in an alternate format or if you require any other arrangements to make this course more accessible to you. You may also wish to contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) at ext for any specific question regarding an accommodation. 3.0 TEXTBOOK Pozzulo, Bennell, & Forth (2012). Forensic Psychology (3 rd Ed.) Pearson/Prentice-Hall, Toronto.

2 Psychology 3314G Course Syllabus COURSE OBJECTIVES The purposes of Psychology 3390G are: 1. To provide students with knowledge of the basic vocabulary, research findings, and generally accepted concepts in the field of psychology and law; 2. To heighten students awareness of the problems and advances in the study of issues in psychological research in legal contexts; 3. To introduce students to the applications of psychological research in shaping public policy. 5.0 EVALUATION The Psychology Department follows the University of Western Ontario grading guidelines, which are as follows (see A One could scarcely expect better from a student at this level A Superior work that is clearly above average B Good work, meeting all requirements, and eminently satisfactory C Competent work, meeting requirements D Fair work, minimally acceptable F below 50 Fail Evaluation is based on two (2) exams, and one (1) essay. The midterm exam covers the first half of the course, and is worth 25% of the final grade. It will consist of multiple choice and short answer questions selected from lecture and text material. The final exam will cover the entire course, is worth 45% of the final grade, and will consist of short answers and essay questions. The essay will be on a topic selected by the student, but approved by a TA, and will be worth 25% of the final grade. Late essays will be docked one mark (out of 25) per day. No extensions will be permitted. The remaining 5% will be judged (by the instructor and teaching assistant) on the basis of attendance, class participation, and possibly brief quizzes. Midterm Examination (25%) Essay (25%) Final Examination (45%) Attendance & Participation (5%) 6.0 TEST AND EXAMINATION SCHEDULE The Midterm Exam will be held in-class on Thursday February 28th, 2013 and will cover the lectures from January 10th to February 14th, inclusive. The Final Exam will be during the final exam period, TBA, April 2013 and will cover all course material. MAKE-UP EXAMINATIONS: Please see section 8.0 for policy regarding make-up examinations.

3 Psychology 3314G Course Syllabus LECTURE SCHEDULE Date Lecture Topic Reading Jan 10 1 Introduction to Forensic Psychology Jan 17 2 History & Challenges of Forensic Chapter 1 Psychology; Roles and Responsibilities Jan 24 3 Psychology & Investigation I: Chapter 3, Chapter 4 Interrogations & Confessions; Deception Detection Jan 31 4 Psychology & Investigation II: Criminal Chapter 3, Chapter 4 Profiling Feb 7 5 Eyewitness Accuracy & Testimony Chapter 5 Feb 14 6 Psychology of Criminal Behaviour Chapter 11, Chapter 14 Feb 21 Feb 28 Reading Week MIDTERM EXAM March 7 7 Correctional Psychology; Punishment & Chapter 9 Sentencing March 8 Assessing Fitness & NCRMD Chapter 8 14 March 9 Risk Assessment I Understanding & Chapter Assessing Psychopathy March 10 Risk Assessment II Conducting Chapter Comprehensive Risk Assessments April 4 Future of Forensic Psychology in Canada ESSAY DUE TODAY TBA 8.0 STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC OFFENCES Students are responsible for understanding the nature and avoiding the occurrence of plagiarism and other scholastic offenses. Plagiarism and cheating are considered very serious offenses because they undermine the integrity of research and education. Actions constituting a scholastic offense are described at the following link: As of Sept. 1, 2009, the Department of Psychology will take the following steps to detect scholastic offenses. All multiple-choice tests and exams will be checked for similarities in the pattern of responses using reliable software, and records will be made of student seating locations in all tests and exams. All written assignments will be submitted to TurnItIn, a service designed to detect and deter plagiarism by comparing written material to over 5 billion pages of content located on the Internet or in TurnItIn s databases. All papers submitted for such checking will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently between The University of Western Ontario and Turnitin.com ( Possible penalties for a scholastic offense include failure of the assignment, failure of the course,

4 suspension from the University, and expulsion from the University. Psychology 3314G Course Syllabus OTHER INFORMATION Office of the Registrar web site: Student Development Services web site: Please see the Psychology Undergraduate web site for information on the following: - Policy on Cheating and Academic Misconduct - Procedures for Appealing Academic Evaluations - Policy on Attendance - Policy Regarding Makeup Exams and Extensions of Deadlines - Policy for Assignments - Short Absences - Extended Absences - Documentation - Academic Concerns Calendar References No electronic devices, including cell phones, will be allowed during exams.

5 THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO LONDON CANADA Department of Psychology Psychology 3314G Essay Assignment Psychology 3314G Course Syllabus 5 For this assignment, you are to write a paper of words, which is approximately 10 pages (typed, double spaced). The paper should follow the APA style (e.g., format of citations and references), but does not include an abstract. Late papers will be penalized by deduction of one point (out of 25) per day. Your assignment is to choose a particular topic in adult psychopathology and write a review of recent research findings and theoretical developments relating to that topic. Some suggested topics are listed below. If you wish to choose a topic that is not in the list, you are free to do so, but regardless of what essay topic you choose to pursue, you are required to have it approved by the T.A. before you begin. You will also be required to have a thesis statement approved by the T.A. (The deadlines for these approvals are TBA). Your topic should relate to some aspect of the discipline of Forensic Psychology. Note that the amount of existing research varies widely with domain of interest (e.g. eyewitness accuracy; etiology of psycvhopathy; evaluations of correctional rehabilitation), so the breadth or specificity of your topic will depend on the particular issue that you choose. Be careful not to choose a topic that is either too broad or too narrow. Your essay should include references to at least 10 empirical journal articles or book chapters. Referencing websites is rarely advisable. If possible, include some review articles as well as some articles presenting original empirical studies. The mark will be based on such factors as the comprehensiveness of the review, level of understanding of the issues, critical evaluation of empirical research, accuracy of the information, innovativeness of thinking, clarity of presentation, and overall writing style. Topics from Previous Years (as examples): Assessing the Effectiveness of Treatment for Psychopathic Individuals Imprisonment is a Pseudosolution to Crime: Implications for Bill C-10 Interviewing Young Children for Eyewitness Testimony Defending the Insanity Plea as a Criminal Trial Legal Defense Brain Abnormalities in Violent Offenders: Arguing for the Inclusion of Brain Scans An Examination of Non-Objectivity in Juror Judgments as a Result of Extrinsic Variables The Impact of DNA Evidence in the Criminal Justice System Eliminating Mandatory Minimum Sentences from the Canadian Legal System Assessing the Effectiveness of Pharmacological Interventions for Sex Offenders The Criminal Born From a Social Context: The Social Influences of Crime