Keele University Prospectus Undergraduate | 2016 | Page 80

SOCIOLOGY AND CRIMINOLOGY

Criminology and Psychology
Overview

Crime, deviance and social order are some of the
most taxing issues in most societies, and criminology
is broadly about the how and why of crime and
deviance, the attempts to control crime and deal
with offenders. Human behaviour is one of the basic
themes in psychology and therefore the Criminology
and Psychology dual honours programme can
look back on a long and continuing joint history.
Keele pioneered the teaching of criminology at
undergraduate level and was the first university to
offer criminology as an undergraduate subject in
the UK.
Why do people sometimes engage in harmful
behaviour? Why do police officers act in particular
ways? How do judges and magistrates reach their
decisions? What is the impact of criminal offences
on victims? How are some people able to live with
the knowledge that their actions have caused others
great grief? How do we make persistent offenders
change their ways? These are only a handful of the
many questions where psychology is able to offer
fundamental insight.
Criminology often uses psychological approaches,
for example when examining the treatment of
offenders, or media representations of crime and
criminals, or when researching the fear of crime
not just amongst those who have been victims of
crime themselves, but amongst the public at large
as well. In the criminology programme you will be
introduced to psychological themes, ideas, theories.
In the psychology programme specific modules are
immediately relevant to the study of crime, deviance
and crime control.
The mix of experimental, observational, survey
and different qualitative and quantitative methods
of research favoured in psychology are matched
by strong qualitative traditions in criminology.
This programme makes for well rounded, highly
skilled and marketable graduates with substantive
knowledge across two disciplines of particular
contemporary significance.

Course content
First year
In the first year you will study six core modules:

DU

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• Psychology and Crime
• Punishment: Beyond the Popular Imagination
Second year
In the second year the core modules are:
• Crime and Justice in a Global Context
• Developmental and Social Psychology
• Survey and Qualitative Research Methods
• Cognitive and Biological Research Methods
• Biological Psychology, Perception and Cognition
• Research Methods in Criminology
Elective modules include:
• Policing and the Police
• Crime, Culture and Conflict 1700-1914
• Working for Justice
• Mental Health and Offending
• The Third Sector: Making a Difference
(voluntary sector placement module)
Third year
In the third year the available modules reflect the
expertise and active research interests of members
of staff, and change from year to year. Currently
modules include:
• Social Development in Children
• Community Psychology
• Domestic Violence
• Disclosure Processes in Children and Adolescents
• Eco-psychology
• Peer Relationships in Childhood and Adolescence
• Psychology, Health and Social Action
• Health Psychology
• Psychobiology
• Abnormal Psychology
• Gender History and Punishment 1486-1955
• Risk and Criminal Justice
• The Politics and Cultures of the Death Penalty
in the 21st century
• Popular Culture and Crime

• Understanding Crime

• Living with