Course Overview
What drives someone to commit a crime? Can we ever truly understand the criminal mind? And how reliable is the evidence used to determine guilt or innocence?
Take your understanding of criminal psychology further as you explore the complex relationship between human behaviour, psychological theory and the criminal justice system.
In this course, you will investigate real criminal cases, analyse how different psychological approaches explain offending, and explore how psychology is applied in criminal investigations, offender profiling and rehabilitation. You will also examine concepts of justice, question the reliability of evidence, and investigate how psychological factors can contribute to miscarriages of justice.
A key part of the course involves conducting your own psychological research, allowing you to explore an aspect of criminal psychology that particularly interests you.
Criminal Minds combines Psychology, Legal Studies and Science, encouraging independent thinking, critical analysis and a deeper understanding of why people behave as they do.
This course is designed for Year 13 students and offers 20 internally assessed NCEA Level 3 credits, including 16 Psychology credits that contribute towards University Entrance.
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The Teacher
Kate Staniford
0Students 2 Courses
Kate Staniford is the Principal of Collingwood Area School and has taught for 25 years, primarily in Mathematics. Her teaching and leadership experience spans everything from large secondary schools to small rural and isolated schools across New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Kate holds a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership, postgraduate qualifications in Psychology, and degrees in Science and Science Education. She has a particular interest in human behaviour, what makes people tick, and why people sometimes make decisions that seem completely irrational. With a fascination for true crime, criminal psychology and the complexities of the human mind, Kate brings curiosity, critical thinking and a healthy dose of scepticism to the Criminal Minds course. She enjoys challenging assumptions, exploring different perspectives and encouraging students to look beyond the obvious to understand why people do what they do.
Course Details
| Standard No * | Standard title | credit value | Internal/External | Completion |
| AS91872 v1 | Analyse the interaction between psychological approaches | 6 | Internal | End Term 1 |
| AS91875 v1 | Analyse how theories are applied within a field of psychological practice | 4 | Internal | End Term 2 |
| US27840 v3 | Evaluate a concept of justice in relation to an actual situation | 4 | Internal | End term 3 |
| AS91874 v1 | Conduct independent psychological research with consultation | 6 | Internal | By study leave time |
Learning Exchange
1.00 placement
OR Cost
$1976.00
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