BA (Hons) Psychology and Criminology Bachelor's degree at the University of Brighton

You will look at the basic approaches and theories within psychology and consider issues of application in the field. Areas covered include an introduction to applied psychology; cyberpsychology; clinical and counselling psychology; community psychology; gender and sexuality; health psychology; forensic psychology; and positive psychology.

This module addresses key issues in child development and lifespan development to provide you with an introduction to the field of developmental psychology. You will examine issues from infancy through middle childhood to adulthood, exploring how people develop through time. Content covers the broad themes of history and theories of childhood development; cognitive development; development through the lifespan; social development; culture and development; and atypical development.

You will learn the quantitative and qualitative research skills and methods used in psychology and develop expertise in study design, data collection and analysis, and critical thinking. You will also develop the ability to communicate complex information such as research design, data, interpretation of findings and limitations.

You will develop your understanding of research design and analysis, drawing on both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Indicative content includes probability and significance testing; normal distribution and sampling distribution; formulating research questions and choosing appropriate research design and analyses; data preparation and management; and analyses for experimental and correlational designs.

This module will introduce you to the criminal justice system in England and Wales by exploring its main institutions and agencies, for example, police, courts, prison and probation. You will explore some of the key debates and policies in relation to sentencing, victims and crime prevention. You'll also gain an understanding of the politics and controversies in criminal justice and develop your skills in identifying, analysing information and presenting coherent arguments.

Here you will examine criminological theories from an historical perspective and gain an understanding of the political, social and cultural contexts in which different theories were developed, how they translated to policy, and their strengths, weaknesses and biases in explaining crime and deviance.

This module teaches you about quantitative and qualitative research methods relating to psychology, including advanced experimental design and multivariate analyses. You will gain experience in small-scale research projects and develop skills in reviewing literature, research design, data collection, data analysis and report writing.

During this module, core criminological perspectives on justice are introduced and contrasted with emerging developments and debates relating to justice in the UK and elsewhere, including approaches drawn from non-Western traditions. You will also consider sources of injustice, the struggles of some segments of society to secure justice and the factors which can influence this.

This module covers two core areas of psychology: biological psychology and cognitive psychology. You will gain a foundational knowledge and understanding of the biological basis of behaviour, including biological methods and ethical issues. You'll explore classic and contemporary theory, research, debate and real-world applications of cognitive functions and their underlying physiology.

In this module you will learn to apply critical thinking and key criminological concepts to the use of punishment in the criminal justice process. You will look at the penal system and the rationale for its use; examine the history of prisons, how punishment is decided upon and delivered; the prison demographic; the wider implications of the penal system; and the alternatives to orthodox punishment.

Introducing two main areas of psychology, this module will look at social psychology and the psychology of individual differences. Through theory, research, ethical considerations and real-world applications, it addresses the social, cultural, conceptual and historical issues related to our experiences in the social world and how these are influenced by disposition.

This module introduces you to forensic psychology with a focus on security. You will explore the psychological and behavioural underpinnings of feelings of security. You'll look at the psychological factors in various measures – such as raising awareness of crime in the community and identifying the likelihood of becoming a victim of crime – that police, government and security personnel take in ensuring the security of people in the community.

At the heart of this module is a 40-hour voluntary engagement within a local, not-for-profit organisation. You will also explore community engagement theory, reflect on your personal values and aspirations, and develop transferable skills through both theory and practice. You will develop awareness of broad social, structural and economic issues which impact the work of local not-for-profit organisations and the lived experiences of the communities they support.

This module covers psychological understandings of mental health and distress. It looks at the role of biology, culture and history in the formulation of mental health problems and the role and validity of diagnoses in clinical management. It also evaluates psychological explanations, personal experiences and interventions for mental health and distress.

This module will cover key areas of growth and development in forensic psychology and introduce relevant psychological perspectives. It encourages a deeper understanding of psychology in the forensic field and the social and political context in which it is applied. You will explore topics such as justice, expert testimony, witnesses, theories of offending behaviour, and psychological assessment of what is most effective, valued and fair in practice and policy.

In Violence and Society, you will examine how patterns of power, control and dominance permeate society and impact on our social understandings and experiences of violence. You will gain an understanding of the key themes and issues around violence and its macro, cultural and embodied manifestations. By the end of the module, you'll have a critical awareness of violence as constructed at different levels of society and in different arenas.

The Psychology Dissertation will enable you to initiate, design, conduct, analyse, interpret and report an empirical research study under supervision. As well as a series of lectures, workshops and online resources, you will attend tutorials which will guide extensive independent study culminating in a research report of 8,000 words maximum.

The focus of this module is the relationship between humans, wellbeing and the natural environment set against the backdrop of climate change and wider ecological crisis. You will consider work in psychology and the social sciences which address these issues and how they interrelate, as well as looking at related practical interventions.

You will study biological and psychological theories and models of addiction during this module and analyse government responses to substance use, including via drug and alcohol policy. You'll look at historical and contemporary attitudes towards those who use drugs as well as reflecting on your own beliefs about and attitudes towards addiction and addicted people and how these inform and are informed by your experiences of the world.

You will develop a critical understanding of different theoretical and methodological approaches to sex and sexualities within psychology (eg, biological, postmodern, feminist and queer perspectives). You will explore the role of psychology as a discipline in shaping definitions of 'normal' and 'transgressive' sexualities within changing historical and political contexts and in relation to intersections of identity (eg, gender, race/ethnicity, class and age).

This module will help you to understand how large-scale systems (for example, capitalist forces) shape body image and wellbeing. You will examine consumption and commodification (online and offline), materialism, debt, identities, inequalities, wellbeing, body image and environmental impacts. You will develop skills and understanding of real-world applications of psychological evaluations and research methods by analysing how studies have been conducted and by critically evaluating psychological

This module will expand your understanding of poverty, social exclusion and related inequalities from several psychological vantage points.