5 credits

Students in this course are provided with a foundation in historical and contemporary biological, psychological, and sociological theories of criminal behavior. Students consider two important questions in forensic psychology: "Who is a criminal?" and "Is criminal behavior a mental illness?"  Students explore theoretical issues that result from attempts to explain criminal behavior in forensic populations. They examine groups of offenders, including mentally disordered offenders, sex offenders, violent offenders, and juvenile offenders. Students apply ethical guidelines and standards to the study and research of criminal behavior. They also use concepts and theories to assess the behavior of criminal offenders in case study scenarios.