Forensic Psychology Essay

Description: 

Many people decide to take a forensic psychology course because it is a popular topic that is portrayed on television and in movies, books, and other media. What is portrayed in the media, however, may not always be accurate. Your Final Project will require you to consider the material we have covered in this course and contrast it with how accurately forensic psychology is portrayed in the media.

Instructions:

1. Your Final Project is a research paper.

2. You will be writing about two separate forensic psychology topics we have covered in this course.

a. First, select the two topics, e.g., police investigations and discipline, competency, serial killers, insanity defense, juvenile delinquents, battered woman syndrome, domestic/family violence, child abuse, recovered memories, child custody, risk assessment, witness and jury selection, expert witness testimony, death penalty, ethical considerations, etc.  You get to select the two topics.

b. Next, find a medium that covers aspects of each forensic psychology topic you plan to write about in your research paper. This might include, but is not limited to some of the following: TV programs such as "Law and Order;" fictional and non-fictional books; court cases; news stories; actual life stories; movies or plays; music; etc.

3. You may select more than one type of medium.  For example, you might use a TV program for one topic and a book for the second topic.

4. Your research paper will be divided into two sections, as you will be discussing the two forensic psychology topics you selected in separate sections. 

a. Introduce each topic with an introductory paragraph. 

b. Fully discuss each topic.  This is the main research component of your paper where you demonstrate your understanding of the topic and how law and forensic psychology work together.  Your research should expand upon what we covered during the course and should cover at a minimum the following: -- How does psychology relate to the legal issues raised by your topic? What are the tensions between psychology and law with respect to your topic? What roles do forensic psychologists play concerning your topic? What other aspects are important in fully explaining your topic? 

c. Demonstrate your understanding of each topic and how psychology relates to law by integrating each topic discussion with the fictional or real life story from the medium you selected.

(1) You must use one fictional or real life example for each topic.  For example, I could use a "Law and Order" program to discuss police officer discipline and a news story to discuss the death penalty.

(2) Discuss how forensic psychology concepts covered in the course are portrayed in the medium.

(3) Discuss whether the portrayal in the medium is realistic and accurate and where it concurs or conflicts with concepts and material we have covered in the course.  For example, in discussing the topic of domestic abuse, I might review a newspaper account of a domestic abuse case and relate the battered woman syndrome to the account.  I could also discuss whether the journalist is sensationalizing the domestic abuse story or whether it realistically portrays domestic abuse issues.

5. Your paper must be double-spaced, use normal typeface and margins, and be a minimum of 7-8 pages (about 4 pages for each topic) and should comply with APA format.  At the end of the paper you must include references -- at least two references for each of your topics (minimum of four references).  You must have at least one book (this can be your Textbook) or journal article and the remaining references must be quality references, which does not include references such as Wikipedia.  Your references should be properly formatted using APA style.  

6. Your research paper should be professional and include logical organization, proper grammar, word usage, spelling, and punctuation.  You must also follow the instructions and meet the minimum requirements for this research paper, including page length.