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OpenLearn

Forensic psychology

via OpenLearn

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Overview

Explore how your own mind works, and discover how the limitations of the human brain can lead to major miscarriages of justice.Despite advances in forensic science, eyewitness testimony remains a critical component of criminal investigations. Psychological research has revealed the dangers of relying on evidence gained from an eyewitness and also how careful the police need to be when questioning witnesses.TranscriptUsing videos of real witnesses and from cameras that go behind the scenes of a police investigation, this course explores the psychology of eyewitness testimony. You will get the chance to test your own cognitive skills and to see whether your powers of investigation are as good as a crack squad of police officers, as you try to solve a crime using nothing but evidence from eyewitnesses.This course is intended for those with an interest in psychology and/or criminal investigation, and does not require any previous experience of studying either subject.If you found this course interesting and want to test yourself further, why not take a look at the Open University's BSc in Forensic psychology?Enrolling on the course will give you the opportunity to earn an Open University digital badge. Badges are not accredited by The Open University but they're a great way to demonstrate your interest in the subject and commitment to your career, and to provide evidence of continuing professional development.Once you are signed in, you can manage your digital badges online from My OpenLearn. In addition, you can download and print your OpenLearn statement of participation - which also displays your Open University badge.The Open University would really appreciate a few minutes of your time to tell us about yourself and your expectations for the course before you begin, in our optional start-of-course survey. Once you complete the course we would also value your feedback and suggestions for future improvement, in our optional end-of-course survey. Participation will be completely confidential and we will not pass on your details to others.This course is accredited by the CPD Standards Office. It can be used to provide evidence of continuing professional development and on successful completion of the course you will be awarded 24 CPD points. Evidence of your CPD achievement is provided on the free Statement of Participation awarded on completion.Anyone wishing to provide evidence of their enrolment on this course is able to do so by sharing their Activity Record on their OpenLearn Profile, which is available before completion of the course and earning of the Statement of Participation.

Syllabus

  • Introduction and guidance
  • Introduction and guidance
  • What is a badged course?
  • How to get a badge
  • Acknowledgements
  • Week1Week 1: Introduction to eyewitness psychology
  • Introduction
  • 1 Mistaken identification
  • 1.1 Knowing your own mind
  • 1.2 What you think you know about your memory
  • 2 Introduction to eyewitness psychology
  • 2.1 Causes of miscarriages of justice
  • 2.2 Miscarriages of justice
  • 2.3 The size of the problem – the Innocence Project
  • 2.4 Variables affecting reliability of testimony
  • 2.5 A witness misidentifies her attacker
  • 3 Introduction to the investigation
  • 3.1 Profiles of the police officers
  • 3.2 Profiles of the witnesses
  • 3.3 Why did no one intervene?
  • 3.4 Why just stand by?
  • 4 This week’s quiz
  • 5 Summary of Week 1
  • References
  • Acknowledgements
  • Week2Week 2: Initial statements
  • Introduction
  • 1 Remembering different aspects of a crime
  • 1.1 The influence of witness characteristics
  • 1.2 Co-witnessing
  • 1.3 Impact of estimator variables
  • 2 DI Bullet takes witness statements
  • 2.1 Evaluating the statements
  • 2.2 Re-evaluating the statements
  • 2.3 Summary of the evidence
  • 3 DS Sund takes witness statements
  • 3.1 Evaluating the statements
  • 3.2 Re-evaluating the statements
  • 3.3 Comparing the evidence
  • 4 This week’s quiz
  • 5 Summary of Week 2
  • References
  • Acknowledgements
  • Week3Week 3: Seeing and not seeing
  • Introduction
  • 1 Testing your powers of observation
  • 1.1 Gorilla in the midst
  • 1.2 Eyetracking
  • 2 Explanation of change blindness
  • 2.1 Flicker paradigm
  • 2.2 Implications of attentional problems for witnesses
  • 2.4 The influence of stress and arousal
  • 2.5 Factors in change blindness
  • 3 Questioning witnesses
  • 3.1 False memory
  • 3.2 False memory test
  • 3.3 Meaning of the false memory task
  • 3.4 Memory, questioning and suggestibility
  • 3.5 Types of questions
  • 4 Week 3 quiz
  • 5 Summary of Week 3
  • References
  • Further reading
  • Acknowledgements
  • Week4Week 4: Interviewing witnesses
  • Introduction
  • 1 DI Bullet: witness interviews
  • 1.1 Evaluating the evidence in the interviews
  • 1.2 DI Bullet’s evidence
  • 2 Psychology of interviewing
  • 2.1 Context reinstatement
  • 2.2 The cognitive interview
  • 2.3 The cognitive interview in practice
  • 3 DS Sund: witness interviews
  • 3.1 Evaluating the evidence in the interviews
  • 3.2 DS Sund’s evidence
  • 4 Week 4 quiz
  • 5 Summary of Week 4
  • References
  • Acknowledgements
  • Week5Week 5: Making and recognising faces
  • Introduction
  • 1 Describing a face
  • 1.1 Why is it so hard to describe a face?
  • 1.2 Creating a face
  • 1.3 Make a famous face
  • 1.4 Psychology and technology
  • 2 Recognising a face
  • 2.1 The face, the whole face and nothing but the face
  • 2.2 Famous E-FIT task
  • 2.3 Recall and recognition
  • 2.4 Comparing E-FIT and EFIT-V
  • 3 When face recognition fails
  • 3.1 Turning face perception on its head
  • 3.2 Face-recognition disorders
  • 3.3 Prosopagnosia interview
  • 3.4 Bias in face recognition
  • 4 Week 5 quiz
  • 5 Summary of Week 5
  • References
  • Acknowledgements
  • Week6Week 6: Visual identification
  • Introduction
  • 1 Identification procedures
  • 1.1 Simultaneous vs sequential presentation
  • 1.2 Fair line-ups
  • 1.3 Verbal overshadowing
  • 1.4 Unconscious transference
  • 2 Identification skills test
  • 2.1 Crime 1
  • 2.2 Parade 1
  • 2.3 Crime 2
  • 2.4 Parade 2
  • 2.5 Crime 3
  • 2.6 Parade 3
  • 2.7 Crime 4
  • 2.8 Parade 4
  • 2.9 Identification skills test: answers
  • 3 DI Bullet’s investigation so far
  • 3.1 DI Bullet shows the ID parades to Lila
  • 3.2 DI Bullet shows the ID parades to Seth
  • 3.3 What were the problems with the ID parades?
  • 3.4 DI Bullet’s outcome
  • 4 DS Sund’s investigation so far
  • 4.1 Video identification parades
  • 4.2 DS Sund shows the ID parades to Lila
  • 4.3 DS Sund shows the ID parades to Seth
  • 4.4 What were the problems with the line-ups?
  • 4.5 DS Sund’s outcome
  • 5 Week 6 quiz
  • 6 Summary of Week 6
  • References
  • Acknowledgements
  • Week7Week 7: Whodunnit?
  • Introduction
  • 1 DI Bullet solves the crime
  • 1.1 The case for the prosecution
  • 1.2 The case for the defence
  • 1.3 Summing up DI Bullet’s case
  • 2 DS Sund solves the crime
  • 2.1 The case for the prosecution
  • 2.2 The case for the defence
  • 2.3 Summing up DS Sund’s case
  • 2.4 Which investigation produced the best results?
  • 3 What do you think happened?
  • 3.1 Watching the crime
  • 3.2 How well did the police do?
  • 4 This week’s quiz
  • 5 Summary of Week 7
  • Acknowledgements
  • Week8Week 8: Conclusion
  • Introduction
  • 1 New research
  • 1.1 Mystery man
  • 1.2 Reading minds and behaviour
  • 1.3 Eyewitness survey
  • 1.4 Research around the world
  • 1.5 Issues of realism and ethics in witness research
  • 2 Looking at psychology more broadly
  • 2.1 Work of forensic psychologists
  • 2.2 Psychology at The Open University
  • 3 This week’s quiz
  • 4 End-of-course round-up
  • Tell us what you think
  • Where next?
  • Further reading
  • Acknowledgements

Reviews

4.0 rating, based on 2 Class Central reviews

4.2 rating at OpenLearn based on 160 ratings

Start your review of Forensic psychology

  • Chandavolu Tanishqa Rao
    Even though the material was good and I completed my course I didn't get the certificate which was mentioned in the description.
  • Profile image for Tooba Batool
    Tooba Batool
    The curriculum was well-structured, providing a comprehensive overview of key topics in forensic psychology. From understanding criminal behavior and profiling to the assessment of mental disorders in legal contexts, the course covered a broad spectrum of relevant subjects. The blend of theoretical knowledge and practical applications was particularly commendable, offering a well-rounded learning experience.
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