Analysis of human thoughts, feelings and actions as influenced by other people.  Topics include: socialization, perception of self and others, prosocial and antisocial behavior, attitudes, interpersonal attraction, social influence, and group behavior.

Nature and causes of maladjustment and mental disorders. History of mental illness, diagnosis, research, and treatment of mental disorders. 

Facts and principles of personality study. Nature of personality, its structure, development, expression, and measurement. Exposition and evaluation of personality study methods with critical review of traditional and modern theories of personality.

Psychological principles and techniques as applied to the development and maintenance of adaptive and growth-enhancing human behavior. Exposure to a variety of change agent methods including anxiety and habit control, social skill training, reinforcement techniques as well as thought pattern modification (through demonstrations and exercises). Applications of those approaches to self-control, individual and group counseling, child and family systems intervention, and organizational design and management.

Consideration of nature and causes of maladjustment, emotional disorders, and learning disabilities in children in conjunction with approaches to prevention and remediation.

Survey of historical, demographical, and statistical aspects of substance abuse. Abuse of alcohol and drugs, as well as eating disorders, may be considered. A variety of theoretical models (e.g., psychopharmacological, personality, psychodynamic, and sociological) are discussed. Individual, milieu, family, group, behavior modification, and drug therapies are described.

Consideration of the important theories and issues within this period of development, such as juvenile delinquency, sex-role identity, and parent and peer group relationships.

This course will provide a detailed examination of past and present theories of criminal behavior, placing them in a socio-historical context and exploring their policy and practical implications.

This course provides students with an overview of state and federal criminal courts and case processing, including the study of prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, jury decision-making, plea bargaining, and sentencing.

This course examines the history, functions, and processes of corrections. The primary focus is institutional corrections and its evolution based on philosophies of retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation. The role and influence of community correctional practices and policy on institutional corrections are also covered.

This course will examine the history, theories, policies, and practices of the juvenile justice system. It will also include a discussion of diversion programs, child maltreatment, and gang behavior.

This course is an introduction to the principles underlying the definition, constitutionality, and application of criminal laws. It includes the analysis of court decisions regarding various state and federal crimes, and the rules of individual responsibility and accountability for those crimes.

This course examines the social injustices in the criminal justice system’s naming and sanctioning of harmful behaviors as crimes.  Discussions will unpack the values, ethics, and ideologies underlying the current retributive system of sanctioning compared to social justice responses. Harmful and oppressive crimes of states, nations, and corporations such as genocide, violence, and environmental crimes illustrate key concepts underlying justice models.  Students will learn how the following concepts apply in retributive justice models and more inclusive, peace-oriented, and restorative models: marginalization, stigmatization, stigma, power, privilege, bias, oppression, resistance, compassion, inclusivity, community, and the limitations of a rights-based approach.

This course explores the relationship of mental illness to crime and violence. Topics include the nature, prevalence, and consequences of mental disorder, substance use, and violence among criminal offenders, violence risk assessment, and the institutional and other treatments for the mentally ill offender.

This course will explore whether substance use is related to crime, the effect of drug trafficking on communities, the policies aimed at controlling drug use and their effectiveness, as well as the implications of current drug policies and practices on communities and on the criminal justice system itself.

This course examines the scientific study of victimization, the relationships between victims and offenders, the interactions between victims and the criminal justice system, and the connections between victims and other social groups and institutions.

This course examines current research and theoretical perspectives related to race and ethnicity in crime and in criminal justice processing. It will cover such issues as racial profiling, the effects of drug laws on people of color, minority disenfranchisement from the criminal justice system, and crime and immigration.

This course will address the nature and scope of intimate partner violence, the factors that contribute to it as well as the theories that have been developed to explain it. Attention will be paid to society’s responses to intimate partner violence.

This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to the study of criminal justice system error, drawing from criminology, psychology, and law, to examine wrongful conviction and acquittal, official misconduct, and discrimination. The course examines the rate of error, institutional responses to error, and how policies exacerbate, or minimize, miscarriage of justice.

This course examines the definitions, scope, and impact of violence and abuse in childhood. In particular, this course introduces students to the theoretical and empirical literatures relating to family violence, including child physical abuse, child sexual abuse, and child neglect, as well as child victimization in neighborhoods and schools. A special emphasis will be placed on the prevalence, etiology, risks, and consequences of child victimization.

Students may take PSCJ 399 to count as an elective toward their Psychology of Crime and Justice Minor.  Students must receive permission from Dr. Stalans to register, and must be involved in research in the field of psychology and law.