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

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
Gamification (Coursera) Coursera
University of Pennsylvania

Gamification (Coursera)

CS: Design & Product

Gamification is the application of game elements and digital game design techniques to non-game problems, such as business and social impact challenges. This course will teach you the mechanisms of gamification, why it has such tremendous potential, and how to use it effectively.

Jun 8th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Game Business Social
Details
Introduction to Psychology (Coursera) Coursera
University of Toronto

Introduction to Psychology (Coursera)

Humanities Social Sciences

This course highlights the most interesting experiments within the field of psychology, discussing the implications of those studies for our understanding of the human mind and human behavior. We will explore the brain and some of the cognitive abilities it supports like memory, learning, attention, perception and consciousness. We will examine human development - both in terms of growing up and growing old - and will discuss the manner in which the behavior of others affect our own thoughts and behavior.

Jun 8th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Learning Brain Mind
Details
Introduction to Social Psychology (edX) EdX
University of Queensland,UQx

Introduction to Social Psychology (edX)

Sci: Biology & Life Sciences Humanities

Learn why people think and behave the way they do in social settings. We often have firmly held beliefs about why people think and behave the way they do. Sometimes our intuitions are correct, but often they are not. Social psychology helps us understand how people think about themselves and other people and what motivates their behaviour in social settings. This course explores a range of topics in social psychology, from how we think about ourselves, how we think about others, and how we interact and communicate with others.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Psychology Behavior Social 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
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
Digital Wellbeing and Productivity (edX) EdX
Jesus College, University of Cambridge

Digital Wellbeing and Productivity (edX)

Social Sciences

Individuals and organisations now face the challenge of finding a healthy balance between productivity and downtime. How can we adapt to changes in our digital lives, while remaining healthy and happy? What habits can help us get the most out of our time and energy online? How can we best manage digital wellbeing while maintaining productive digital habits? And how can individuals, teams, businesses, and institutions learn from research-based knowledge to create digital habits and skills to help us flourish together?

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Philosophy Psychology Productivity
Details
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
Qualitative Research in Psychology (edX) EdX
American Psychological Association,APA

Qualitative Research in Psychology (edX)

Social Sciences

In this course you will learn about the foundations of qualitative inquiry—and how it differs from quantitative research. You will gain practice in common qualitative traditions—like phenomenology and ethnography—and some of the methods they use, such as interviewing. You will gain the competence, confidence, and “know-how” to begin planning your very own qualitative study of a topic in psychology.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Psychology Interviewing Qualitative Research
Details
AP® Psychology - Course 1: What is Psychology? (edX) EdX
The University of British Columbia,UBCx

AP® Psychology - Course 1: What is Psychology? (edX)

Sci: Biology & Life Sciences Social Sciences

Learn about the history and research methods of psychology. This psychology course is an introduction to the field of psychology. It begins by asking “What is Psychology?” and provides some concrete answers to that question. Next, it covers the history of psychology and provides a look at the state of psychology today.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Psychology Research Methods Descriptive Methods
Details
Adaptive Markets: Financial Market Dynamics and Human Behavior (edX) EdX
MIT,MITx

Adaptive Markets: Financial Market Dynamics and Human Behavior (edX)

Economics & Finance Social Sciences

A completely new way of thinking about financial markets, institutions, and innovation that reconciles human behavior with market efficiency using concepts from evolutionary biology, cognitive neuroscience, and artificial intelligence. Half of all Americans have money in the stock market, yet economists can’t agree on whether investors and markets are rational and efficient, as modern financial theory assumes, or irrational and inefficient, as behavioral economists believe—and as financial bubbles, crashes, and crises suggest.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Artificial Intelligence Psychology Financial Markets
Details