in London, UK Psychology of Crime: Psychopathy, Criminal Behavior and Violence PSY 4931, Summer 2014 Course Instructor: Dr. Edelyn Verona Phone: (813) 974-0392 Email: everona@usf.edu Office: PCD 4126 Office Hrs: Mondays 11-1 (or by appointment) Course Description and Objectives The topic of crime is both inherently fascinating and complex. Variants of criminal deviancy range from one-time petty rule violations at one extreme to persistent acts of severe lawbreaking, such as the behavior of serial murderers, at the other. It also varies in terms of characteristics of offenders, from lifetime criminal activity among persons of low means to white collar crime among persons who appear successful at the surface. Considerable progress has been made over the past two decades toward a scientific understanding of factors contributing to the development and maintenance of such behaviors and toward distinguishing various manifestations of criminal behaviors. However, other areas are still mired in the theoretical stage (e.g., school shootings, serial killers). As a point of reference for understanding criminal deviance more broadly, the current course will focus in detail on the phenomenon of psychopathic personality, or psychopathy, in which early-developing constitutional factors are theorized to play a predominant role. Extending from this phenomenon, the course will consider factors involved in criminal behavior more broadly, including developmental factors, causal (genetic/environmental) contributors, psychological aspects, neurobiological processes/mechanisms, and treatment/prevention. Additionally, using theoretical and scientific knowledge as a foundation, the course will explore related criminal concepts, including chronic aggression and violence, sex offenses, disturbing forms of violence (murder-suicide, mass/spree killers), and serial killing. Finally, given the setting of the course this summer, we will discuss comparisons of the handling and understanding of crime in the US relative to the UK. The goal is to be able to apply scientific knowledge to inform understanding of real-life behaviors. The course will provide students with an in-depth understanding of criminal behavior, through readings, lectures/media presentations, assignments, and in-class discussions. Case histories and London excursions will also be used as learning tools. This will be a discussion-based course, so self-motivation, curiosity, dedication to doing the readings, and interest in class engagement are requirements. Learning objectives: Recognize diagnostic distinctions between psychopathic personality, antisocial behavior, and other psychiatric disorders. Describe differing expressions of the psychopathic personality and other forms of criminal behavior more generally. Identify developmental factors, causal (genetic/environmental) contributors, psychological aspects, neurobiological processes/mechanisms, and treatment of criminal behavior.
2 Discuss how scientific data come to bear in understanding extreme presentations of criminal behavior, including in spree killers or serial killers. Discuss how understandings and management of crime differ across cultures, even cultures from the same historical heritage (e.g., UK and US). Course Texts (required): Hare, R. D. (1993). Without conscience. New York: Guilford Press. Hickey, E. W. (2010). Serial murderers and their victims, 6 th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Cleckley, H. (1976/1988). The mask of sanity, 5 th ed. St. Louis, MO: CV Mosby. [This book has been made available for free for educational purposes and can be downloaded from http://www.quantumfuture.net/store/sanity_1.pdf. I also have a copy of it on Canvas.] Other useful reference books (not required): Patrick, C. J. (2006). Handbook of psychopathy. New York: Guilford Press. Lykken, D. T. (1995). The antisocial personalities. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Assoc. Joiner, T. (2014). The perversion of virtue: Understanding murder-suicide. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Readings and Canvas A list of assigned readings for each class period can be obtained from Canvas. Weekly assigned readings will consist of chapters from the course texts (Hare, 1993; Hickey, 2010; Cleckley, 1976/1988) and excerpts from the above-noted non-required reference books, along with occasional readings from other sources. Readings from sources outside the course texts will be posted on Canvas, as will all course-related materials and announcements. You can access this site at https://my.usf.edu. If this is your first time on the site, click on the link for new users to get directions. It is expected that all students will have access to this site and will check it regularly for announcements and class materials. Class Discussion As mentioned above, the format of this class will be a discussion or seminar-like format. These discussions will not be stream-of-consciousness but will be focused on dissecting the important issues and themes. Although some lecturing will occur, I strongly encourage a collaborative and participative atmosphere in learning. In addition, during certain classes, students will lead the class in discussion, as discussed further below. Course Evaluation & Grading Attendance and Participation. Students are expected to complete all assigned readings, and students will be called on to discuss material from the readings in class. To promote participation and attendance in class, at times students will engage in class activities or group discussions, and the product of those in-class assignments will be collected.
Classroom participation and completed in-class assignments will count toward 20% of your grade. Student-led discussion. Groups of 4-5 students working together will prepare and lead the class in a 10-15 minute lecture and discussion that applies themes/theory/content from the assigned topic/readings for that day to the cultural context of London (e.g., current events involving crime or justice in UK demonstrative of course themes; distinct policing or justice practices of the UK; contrasting perceptions of criminal elements and causes of crime in the UK versus the US; unique manifestation of violence, crime, or psychopathic traits in the UK). The discussion team should demonstrate knowledge of the content/theme of the readings and good background on the relevance of the readings to understanding a particular UK-specific issue. It may be useful to visit particular sites in London (maybe take pictures) to get more information on the UK-specific issue you have chosen. Discussion leaders are free to use PowerPoint to organize the lecture and discussion, and to decide on which members will present or discuss which portions of the lecture. An additional critical component of this assignment involves encouraging participation and involvement from the rest of the class during your discussion. So, discussion leaders do not want to get too formal. Evaluations will consider not only the content of the lecture/discussion but also the student groups ability to engage the rest of the class in discussion. This assignment is worth 15% of your grade. Take-Home Assignments. The two take-home assignments are meant to help students apply academic knowledge to understanding clinical phenomena, with fairly short write ups involved. The first one is due midway through the course, and the second one is due on the last day of the course. Assignment #1 will involve completing diagnostic ratings of a case using the individual s interview and/or criminal records information (provided by the instructor). The student will then turn in a brief report that includes diagnostic impressions and psychopathy ratings, as well as justifications for the ratings based on the particulars of the case. Assignment #2 will involve the students completing a case summary and diagnostic analysis of a real-life serial murderer, and writing it up in a brief report (5-6 pages max). More details on each assignment will be provided in class and on Canvas. The two assignments will be worth 30% of your grade (15% each). Exam. There will be one exam in the class covering material from readings and lectures across the course. It will involve both multiple choice and a few short answer questions. Examples of exam questions will be reviewed in class across the course, framed as discussion questions for the day. The exam will account for 35% of the course grade. Grading: Final letter grades for the course will be assigned as follows: A: 90-100 A-: 85-89 B+: 82-84 B: 78-81 B-: 75-77 C+: 70-74 C: 65-69 C-: 60-64 D+: 57-59 D: 53-56 D-: 50-52 F: <50 University Policies University Attendance Policy Students are expected to attend every class. A lot of material is covered each session. Excused absences include documented illness, deaths in the family and other documented crises, call to active military duty or jury duty, religious holy days, and official University activities. These absences will be accommodated in a way that does not arbitrarily penalize students who have a valid excuse and provide documentation. See university attendance policy for more details: http://www.ugs.usf.edu/policy/generalattendance.pdf. 3
4 Academic Integrity Policy All students in the course are expected to abide by the academic honor code, as specified by the university s academic integrity policy. The use of the intellectual property of others without giving them appropriate credit is a serious academic offense. This includes cheating or misrepresenting the source, nature, or other conditions of your academic work to get undeserved credit. It is the instructor s policy that cheating or plagiarism will result in receiving a failing grade for the course. Please see instructor or go to http://www.ugs.usf.edu/policy/academicintegrityofstudents.pdf for a description of what constitutes a violation of academic integrity. Americans With Disabilities Act The ADA requires that all qualified persons have equal opportunity and access to education regardless of the presence of any disabling conditions. Students with disabilities can register with Students with Disabilities Services (SDS) in order to receive academic accommodations. SDS encourages students to notify instructors of accommodation needs at least 5 business days prior to needing the accommodation. A letter from SDS must accompany this request. Diversity Statement and Ground Rules for Discussions It is essential that our classroom be a place where students and instructor feel comfortable expressing their thoughts without fear of harsh or judgmental responses. I expect all students to be respectful of the widely varied experiences and backgrounds of classmates. You may expect the same level of respect from me. Disrespect or discrimination on any basis, including but not limited to ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, physical ability, class, religion, or political or value system, will not be tolerated. In addition, there will be people in class who either have experienced mental health concerns themselves or who have a friend or relative who has experienced mental health concerns. Mental health issues are very personal -- please keep this in mind as you make comments or pose questions in class. Syllabus Change Policy Except for changes that substantially affect implementation of the evaluation (grading) statement, this syllabus is a guide for the course and is subject to change with advance notice. Tentative Course Sequence* (*Readings should be completed before the class day on which they are assigned) June 30*: Introduction, History, and Clinical Description of Psychopathic Personality [*first day of class] July 2: Diagnosing Psychopathy & Antisocial Personality Disorder; Key Diagnostic Distinctions July 7*: Criminal & Non-Criminal Psychopathy; Personality Profiling & Psychopathy Subtypes [Assignment #1 Due] July 9: Childhood Risk Factors & Development; Crime and Psychopathy in Women July 14: Role of Genes & Environment; Psychological and Neurobiological Understandings
5 July 16: Violence & Homicide; Cross-Cultural Perspective of Crime and Justice System July 21*: Serial Killers and their Victims; Definitions & Typologies of Serial Murderers [*Exam] July 23: Serial Murder Mechanisms; Criminal Profiling & Investigation of Serial Killers July 24: [Assignment #2 Due]