EdX

The Psychology of Criminal Justice (edX)

Offered by University of Queensland, UQx,
The Psychology of Criminal Justice (edX)

Learn how behavioural science can improve our criminal justice system. This course systematically explores the effectiveness of the law and justice system from a psychological perspective. By experiencing a fictional case first hand, you will learn about the psychology of law and some of the misconceptions commonly held about criminal justice.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see EdX's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

What you'll learn:

  • How to identify some of the myths about how the criminal justice system works from a psychological perspective
  • The empirical evidence that can inform our understanding of criminal justice
  • How to improve how justice is administered

Syllabus

Episode 1: Investigating the crime scene
A murder has been committed. In this episode, find out about criminal profiling and how this might be used in investigating the crime.

Episode 2: Interviewing the witnesses
How reliable are eyewitnesses, and how can their memory of the crime be distorted? Learn about the encoding, storage and retrieval of eyewitness memories and ways these can be improved.

Episode 3: Identifying the suspect
Photofits and line-ups are commonly used during crime investigations, and in this episode you will learn about how biases related to these can be recognized and reduced.

Episode 4: Questioning the suspect
How reliable are confessions? Can you identify when someone is lying? In this episode the investigators question the suspect and try to work out who is the guilty party.

Episode 5: Getting ready for trial
The investigators think they have identified the murderer. Who decides whether someone is found guilty or not guilty? Does jury selection work? What part might media coverage play in how the case trial progresses?

Episode 6: The trial (PART 1)
The jury has been selected and the trial commences. In this episode the evidence is presented and we hear about expert evidence and its reliability.

Episode 7: The trial (PART 2)
The jury need to make a decision on the case. You will learn about judicial instructions and how juries deliberate.

Episode 8: Epilogue
Did the investigators get the right person? Find out how it all ends in this final episode.

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Psychological Influences on Decision Making (edX) EdX
American Psychological Association,APA

Psychological Influences on Decision Making (edX)

Social Sciences

The goal of this course is to introduce you to the many psychological influences on decision making. Knowing more about the cognitive and social psychological factors underlying decision making will help you make more informed decisions and help you analyze how other people make decisions. If you are an employee, this course can help you understand how your supervisor makes decisions and how you can affect those decisions. If you are a parent, the course can help you better understand the factors that affect your children’s decision making and perhaps how you can shape it. The goal is to help you better understand your own decisions and the decisions of others.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Psychology Social Psychology Cognitive Psychology
Details
Psychology of Political Activism: Women Changing the World (edX) EdX
Smith College

Psychology of Political Activism: Women Changing the World (edX)

Social Sciences

Learn what motivates prominent women such as Gloria Steinem, Loretta Ross, and others to become involved in activism in this political psychology course. Have you ever wanted to change the world? Have you ever wondered what motivates some people to become activists? What experiences in your childhood or when you were a teenager may have shaped your political identity? Join us, along with Gloria Steinem, Loretta Ross, and others, in a seven-week exploration of these questions and more.

No sessions available
5-12 Weeks
Psychology Women Activism
Details
De-Mystifying Mindfulness (Coursera) Coursera
Leiden University

De-Mystifying Mindfulness (Coursera)

Health & Society Personal and Professional Development

Interest in meditation, mindfulness, and contemplation has grown exponentially in recent years. Rather than being seen as mystical practices from ancient Buddhism or esoteric philosophy, they are increasingly seen as technologies rooted in evidence from psychology and neuroscience. Mindfulness has become the basis for numerous therapeutic interventions, both as a treatment in healthcare and as a means of enhancing well-being and happiness. For millions around the world, mindfulness has become a life-style choice, enhancing and enriching everyday experience. Mindfulness is big business.

Nov 23rd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Philosophy Psychology Ethics
Details
Serious Gaming (Coursera) Coursera
Erasmus University Rotterdam

Serious Gaming (Coursera)

Education Social Sciences

Have you ever wondered how playing games can help us to train people, deal with societal challenges or raise awareness of contemporary social issues? In this MOOC you will learn the ins and outs of games that are designed with exactly those purposes in mind: serious games. We will define serious games and discuss the different types that have been developed. We will explain why people like to play them and what impact they may have.

Nov 23rd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Game Philosophy Education
Details
Introduction to Clinical Psychology (edX) EdX
University of Queensland,UQx

Introduction to Clinical Psychology (edX)

Sci: Biology & Life Sciences Humanities

Learn about the principles underlying psychological therapy and the features and treatment of common mental disorders, including anxiety, depression and schizophrenia. Have you ever wondered what causes mental illness, or why we react to stress the way we do? Or what to expect as you get older? Clinical psychology is the study of psychological disorders and the treatments designed to improve the day-to-day lives of people suffering from them.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Psychology Clinical Psychology Schizophrenia
Details
Learning and memory in the brain: a guide for teachers (edX) EdX
University of Cambridge

Learning and memory in the brain: a guide for teachers (edX)

Education

This course will help you discover how neuroscience and psychology can help your students learn more effectively. This course provides a guided tour through the brain, looking at the changes that occur on a cellular level when we learn new information or store a memory. Using research from neuroscience and psychology, we will look at the process of storing long-term memories, and how you can help your students do this effectively.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Neuroscience Learning Brain
Details
Conflict Management: Mediation (edX) EdX
LouvainX,Université Catholique de Louvain - UCL

Conflict Management: Mediation (edX)

Management & Leadership Business

Learn the fundamentals of mediation as a conflict management strategy to effectively help others address their own conflicts. In the last decades mediation has become an essential method of conflict management. Indeed, contrary to traditional legal procedures (e.g., trials), mediation is a way to resolve divergences which is less expensive, faster and which brings greater satisfaction to the parties in conflict.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Psychology Conflict Conflict Resolution
Details
AP® Psychology - Course 3: How the Mind Works (edX) EdX
The University of British Columbia,UBCx

AP® Psychology - Course 3: How the Mind Works (edX)

Social Sciences

Learn about the neuroscience and psychology of the mind including memory, thinking, reasoning, and language. In this psychology course, you will learn about the mind and the psychology of learning, including coverage of classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and social learning. We will look at the psychology and neuroscience of cognition — including memory, thinking and reasoning. The course will conclude with the coverage of language.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Neuroscience Mind Psychology
Details
Consumer Psychology in the Financial Industry (edX) EdX
State Bank of India - SBI

Consumer Psychology in the Financial Industry (edX)

Business

Financial Marketing Psychology is about comprehending the nuances of human behaviour and howhumans behave to marketing stimuli, nudges and situations. Dealing with relatively intangible entities such as financial services is a challenge as consumers find financial services hard to evaluate.Understanding consumer psychology is relevant to strengthen customer relationship.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Marketing Psychology Financial Markets
Details
Introduction to Psychological Research Methods (edX) EdX
University of Queensland,UQx

Introduction to Psychological Research Methods (edX)

Sci: Biology & Life Sciences Humanities

Learn how to plan, conduct and analyze psychological research and effectively communicate the results. Do we really only use 10% of our brain? How can we answer questions like this? We shouldn’t just rely on our intuition, because unfortunately that can sometimes give us the incorrect answer. In this psychology course, learn how psychological research is conducted, how to analyze the findings and results and effectively write a research report.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Psychology Psychological Research Research Methods
Details
Learning Through Cognitive Psychology (edX) EdX
American Psychological Association,APA

Learning Through Cognitive Psychology (edX)

Social Sciences

Many people report engaging in study habits that are not very effective or very efficient. How do we know what strategies are best? Cognitive psychologists have been doing research to ask this very question for multiple decades. It turns out that many strategies that people use extensively are not the ones that cognitive psychology research shows to be the most effective or efficient for learning. In this course, you will learn how to apply research-based principles from cognitive psychology to become a more effective and efficient learner.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Learning Psychology Cognitive Psychology
Details