Are you interested in forensic psychology? Learn about how psychologists can work together with law enforcement. We will cover crime scene analysis, eyewitness memory, lie detection, and fingerprint analysis. These four topics are taken from my most popular forensic psychology classes. 

Learners will watch a video lecture explaining each concept. I lecture from power point slides and will attach a handout of the slides so learners can take notes (if they wish) as they watch the lecture. 

Each lesson also comes with an interactive activity. 

Lesson #1: Crime scene analysis
Lecture: What is forensic psychology? How do forensic psychologists work with law enforcement to analyze crime scenes?
Interactive Element: I will present a fictional example of a crime scene. As a class, we will work together to analyze the crime scene. We will make observations on what we see, hear background from the victim, and post questions we would ask to figure out what took place.

Lesson #2: Eyewitness memory
Lecture: How do psychologists study memory? Do eyewitnesses always correct? What psychological biases might impact memory?
Interactive Element: Learners will witness a fictional crime taking place. They will watch another video of a suspect line up to see if they can identity a suspect. We will also analyze a fictional eyewitness case study this week to identify psychological biases in memory.

Lesson #3: Lie detection
Lecture: Can the average person tell when someone is lying? How about police officers? We will dive into scientific research on the accuracy of lie detection.
Interactive Element: Learners will participate in a demonstration to see if they can detect a lie. We will discuss why or why not we were able to accurately tell when someone is lying.

Lesson #4: Fingerprint identification
Lecture: How does fingerprint identification work? What happens when fingerprint analysis is incorrect? How does psychology play a role in matching fingerprints.
Interactive Element: We will analyze a case study where the fingerprint analysis was incorrect. We will discuss the real-life implications of being falsely accused of a crime and how forensic psychologists can make recommendations to prevent this from happening.

No prior knowledge of psychology is necessary for the class.