An area that’s captured the public imagination from tv shows like Mindhunter and Criminal Minds is criminal profiling. But what’s the reality behind the hype? What is criminal profiling? What do profilers do? Does profiling work? In this film we address these questions through contemporary UK profilers and psychologists, look at some famous case studies and examine different approaches to criminal offender profiling.
Languages: English
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Media and Aggression
Can we learn aggression from aggressive media? This film looks at experimental, longitudinal and case study research evidence and how social learning, script theory and susceptibility approaches can help understand and explain this evidence.
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Rosenhan: Being Sane in Insane Places
This haunting film provides a brilliant summary of one of the most infamous experiments ever conducted in psychology, looking at its origins, methods, quite extraordinary findings and its lasting impact on psychiatry.
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Unmasking: The End of Debate?
Based on new work by a Prof Peter Baehr that suggests debate and evidence are being replaced by accusations against individuals and that a great deal of behaviour is based on illusions. This controversial topic is illustrated with film examples.
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A Mythology of Mass Killers
Mass killings, described by the FBI as four or more unlawful killings in a single event, devastate communities and create fear across countries. But if we’re going to begin to understand what makes someone randomly kill large numbers of people, it’s important to distinguish between the evidence and the mythology. This film examines three major myths: that random mass killings are a relatively recent phenomenon; that all mass killers are insane; and that mass killing is a form of “suicide by cop”.
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Religion: What it Is and What it Does
Ask a hundred people what they think religion is and you’ll probably get a hundred different answers. However, to study religion we have bring together more general ideas about what religion is and what it does. This film, with Professor Eileen Barker of the London School of Economics, explains and illustrates the two dominant sociological approaches to religion: substantive (or exclusive) and functional (or exclusive). A great introduction for students new to the topic.
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New Religions: Alternative Spiritualities?
Sometimes practised far away from the world and sometimes in the full glare of hostile media, there are thousands of new religions. With examples, such as the Moonies, Scientology, the Missionary Church of Kopimism, Paganism and the doomsday cult Heaven’s Gate, this film identifies some of the characteristics of these new religious movements and how some scholars see their rise as an example of a major cultural shift where increasing numbers of people are losing faith in large institutions.
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The Ethics of Abortion: When Does Life Begin?
The controversies surrounding abortion involve a clash between two fundamental rights: the right of the unborn child, or foetus, and the rights of the mother. This film begins with the storm created by leading case of Roe vs Wade and then provides students with an unbiased analysis of the ethical issues underlying demands for the criminalisation and the legalisation of abortion.
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Strain Theory
Merton was one of the first sociologists to look at the relationship between culture and crime. This film provides a clear introduction to Merton’s strain theory, looks at its application to contemporary consumer societies and its continuing influence on modern theories of crime.
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Labelling Theory
Traditionally criminology focused on criminal action and its control. Labelling theory widened the focus to include the social reaction to crime and its consequences. This film documents the rise and fall of labelling theory and illustrates how aspects of it continue to influence contemporary criminology and criminal justice.