Criminal Psychology

• Sort fictional cases across major theories of criminal behavior

• Compare biological, developmental, cognitive, and social explanations

• Analyze criminal subjects in film, television, and case studies

• Evaluate ethical limits in profiling and true-crime storytelling

• Research a real or fictional criminal subject

• Produce a podcast grounded in theory, evidence, and ethical analysis

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

• Compare major psychological and social theories of criminal behavior

• Evaluate a criminal-behavior claim for evidence, limits, and ethical implications

• Create a responsible case podcast applying multiple psychological theories

Students leave with a completed podcast and a stronger evidence-based framework for analyzing criminal behavior without glamorizing harm.

Criminal psychology teaches students to compare explanations instead of reducing behavior to a single cause. Biological, developmental, cognitive, social, and cultural perspectives may illuminate different parts of a case, but each has limits.

Ethical analysis is equally important. Students learn to question profiling, media dramatization, and claims unsupported by evidence. Building a responsible podcast strengthens research, argument, media literacy, and communication while keeping attention on harm and human consequences. Together, these skills strengthen careful reasoning, responsible professional judgment, and the ability to revise a conclusion when new evidence changes the picture.

This course is for high school students who have completed 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grade and are interested in psychology, criminal justice, law, media, behavioral science, or ethical storytelling. It fits students who want a rigorous way to examine difficult behavior.

Participants should be ready to discuss sensitive topics responsibly, compare competing theories, distinguish explanation from excuse, and create an audio project. Respect for victims, evidence, and classmates’ perspectives is essential. Success depends on careful preparation, steady participation, and respect for classmates’ perspectives throughout the course.

Based on students surveyed in Summer Discovery’s 2026 program at the University of Michigan.

Programs on the University of Michigan campus give high-school students the experience of exploring an academic interest in Ann Arbor, a college town where campus and community life blend together. Tree-lined streets, downtown bookstores and cafés, the Nichols Arboretum, and trails near the Huron River create different ways to experience the setting beyond class.

Students learn alongside peers, navigate a large and active campus, and gain independence through everyday choices in a new environment. The experience helps students understand what university life can feel like while giving them space to deepen an interest without having every next step decided. For families, the program offers a meaningful combination of academic depth, community, personal growth, and clearer direction about what a student may want to study or pursue next.

Forensic psychologists, researchers, law-enforcement professionals, attorneys, clinicians, journalists, and media producers examine behavior from different professional and ethical perspectives. Their conclusions depend on evidence, clear limits, and responsible communication.

Students practice those habits through theory comparison, fictional and real-case analysis, profiling critique, and podcast production. The experience can help them compare pathways in psychology, criminal justice, law, research, behavioral science, and evidence-based media. The work also shows how specialists collaborate across roles and communicate important evidence-based decisions to colleagues, clients, organizations, or the public in complex professional settings.