Advanced Research Methods For Psychologists

This unit aims to provide students with:

• an explanation of how the scientific research process may elucidate behaviours and help to lead to new questions, predictions and hypotheses;
• in-depth coverage of advanced qualitative and quantitative research methods and statistical analyses;
• supervised experience in the use of quantitative and qualitative software to analyse varieties of data;
• opportunities to debate personal responsibility, ethics and professional codes of conduct when conducting research.

Relevance

The elements of this unit cover core requirements of the Accreditation through partnership handbooks: Guidance for health or forensic psychology programmes (BPS 2017). The content reflects staff expertise and published output from staff is used to support teaching.

Criminal Psychology

The unit introduces you to the study of criminal behaviour with a solid grounding in the major issues, theories and research relevant to the forensic psychology field. By the end of the unit you will therefore have an advanced understanding of the theories (e.g. criminological, biological, social and psychological) that contribute to our understanding of why criminal behaviour occurs.
The unit will explore theories of criminal behaviour at an in-depth level whilst considering different offender cohorts (e.g. male, female, juvenile) as well as offence types (e.g. sexual and violent offending, arson, theft). The unit will consider prevalence rates as well as theoretical perspectives, taking into consideration changes across environments and time as well as culture, race, religion and politics.

Overall, the unit will integrate theory, research and evidence giving a solid foundation to support your learning in more advanced units in the topic of forensic psychology.
The unit aims to:

• Ensure you have an advanced understanding of theories of criminal and psychology and how it relates to the application of psychological practice;
• To be able to critically evaluate major theories relating to criminal behaviour and offender typologies
• Demonstrate an advanced understanding of the functional links between individual psychological variables, developmental history, contextual variables and offending behaviour;
• Evidence that you have reflected upon the offender-victim interaction/relationship and can illustrate the significance of this antecedent
• Develop a critical reflection of offending behaviour across a number of contexts

Investigative Psychology

This unit provides an advanced understanding of the role of psychology in investigative contexts and law enforcement. It focuses on key issues
within investigative psychology and police psychology such as offender
profiling and geographical mapping.
The unit encourages you to critically evaluate the different paradigms in
the field of investigative psychology and promotes a critical awareness of
new insights and current research debates.
The syllabus is based on recent academic and Government research and the teaching team’s own research and experiences in practice. There is a focus on employability and you will gain an understanding of potential career opportunities in the field.
The unit integrates theory, research and practice and addresses the
question: How is psychology applied to investigations and policing?
The elements of this unit cover core requirements of the Accreditation
through partnership handbook: Guidance for forensic psychology
programmes (BPS 2017). The content reflects staff expertise and
published output from staff is used to support teaching.

Legal Psychology

This unit aims to:

• Ensure you have advanced understanding of how psychology can be applied to legal contexts.

• Develop your knowledge of the criminal and civil judicial systems, primarily in England and Wales, but also around the world.
• Develop your ability to apply and critically evaluate findings from research studies in relation to legal psychology.
• Develop your ability to critically reflect on the various research methods used to investigate legal psychology.

Relevance:

This unit will provide you with an informed and critical understanding of psychology in relation to legal contexts. You will be introduced to, among others, cognitive and social psychological research which has been applied to legal contexts. For example, cognitive processes such as memory and decision-making and social processes such as contagion and persuasion are discussed in relation to topics such as eyewitness testimony, jury decision making and false confessions. 

Assessments In Forensic Psychology

The Unit aims to:

• Encourage an advanced understanding of the assessment of offenders.
• Integrate findings from systematic and meta-analytic reviews to critically evaluate assessment methods.
• Develop skills in reporting assessment results within a forensic context.

Relevance
Forensic Psychology practice requires working in multidisciplinary environments in relation to the detection, conviction and rehabilitation of offenders (and victims of offending). The Unit will focus on the assessment the offenders and the psychologist’s role within the assessment process.
The unit will cover the main scientific and practical skills needed by psychologists to appropriately conduct, interpret and report psychological assessments. Assessments may include cognitive, personality, offence specific, mental health, and offence risk.

Interventions In Forensic Psychology

The Unit aims to:

• Ensure you leave the unit with an advanced understanding of the treatment and rehabilitation of offenders using group and individualised interventions
• Integrate findings from systematic and meta-analytic reviews to critically evaluate intervention studies methods.
• Provide you with a critical understanding of the differing treatment needs of various offender cohorts (e.g. female, adolescent, mentally disordered offenders) and are able to practically apply the knowledge base to critical evaluations of the literature

Relevance
The Unit will focus on psychological interventions aimed at the rehabilitation of a range of offender cohorts in various settings. The unit will cover the main scientific and practical skills needed by psychologists in the field of forensic work including evaluating rehabilitation evidence, identifying treatment needs, developing a psychological formulation, and treatment design and delivery. The unit will explore relevant research and theory with regards to the differing treatment programmes and approaches available to offenders of differing needs. FIP 2 is an essential unit aimed at equipping students with the knowledge base to understand how some of the theoretical knowledge gained in Semester 1 can be applied in a clinical setting.

Professional Skills For Forensic Psychologists

The Unit aims to: provide a framework in professional skills which students will be able to build upon in their future career development. The central focus of this framework is to be critical and evidence based whilst applying some of the foundations skills that would be required to work in forensic contexts and/or complete Stage 2 of the forensic psychology qualification.

Relevance

Students will acquire advanced skills in communication as well as the ability to be critically reflective upon such skills. These will lay the foundations upon which students can develop these skills further in their future careers. During the unit they will be required to demonstrate competence in these skills. These skills will be transferable to a range of employments, but specifically for those wishing to work in forensic contexts.

Msc Forensic Psychology Dissertation

The overall aim of this unit is to provide students the opportunity to develop and build their experience in the research process in a systematic, supervised way, from start to finish.  

In particular:

• to foster autonomous research skills
• to offer students the chance to research an area of forensic psychology systematically and in depth
• to provide students with an opportunity to carry out a substantial, independent research project in forensic psychology
• to promote scholarly activity necessary to produce a substantial research report approaching publishable standard and expanding / redefining current knowledge
• to develop skills in planning, managing and critically reviewing the research process
• to provide a platform for the further development and application of advanced qualitative and /or quantitative research skills to real forensic psychology research questions

Relevance

This unit covers a core requirement of the Accreditation through partnership handbook: Guidance for forensic psychology programmes (BPS, 2017) and in line with the recommendations for further enhancement outlined in BPS post accreditation visit report (2014). The research expertise of the programme team is used to support teaching and supervision.

Victimology

The aim of the unit is to provide students with knowledge and understanding relating to the concept of victimology. Whilst much of MSc Forensic Psychology the course is centred on offenders, this unit focuses on victims and is therefore beneficial to those who, wish to work with individuals who have been victims/survivors of offending. The unit considers a range of victim cohorts including victims of sexual, violent, and trafficking offences. Whilst looking at the theory of victimisation within these concepts, the unit also aims to explore the ethical and clinical applications for both the victim and the therapist within the therapeutic environment.
The unit aims to:

• Guide you in the development of a critical understanding of the psychological effects of experiencing victimisation
• Systematically explore and apply the concepts of victimology within a range of client groups and offending behaviours
• Critically evaluate current literature relating to theory and research within this field and consider contextual factors
• Systematically review existing treatments proposed, which aim to help victims of serious offences
• Critically evaluate the ethical issues relating to research and clinical practice in victimology