Dr. Travis Langley, Distinguished Professor of Psychology
McBrien Hall 301-F
langlet@hsu.edu

CRJ 4093/4413 Criminological Theory and Behavior
An advanced examination of original and annotated works of criminological theory. Theories of causation, prevention, control, and treatment are examined. 

Required Textbook:
Criminal Behavior: A Psychosocial Approach by Bartol.

TEXTBOOK OVERVIEW:
A comprehensive psychological approach to criminal behavior.

Building on a tradition of excellence, Criminal Behavior is well-researched, contemporary, and comprehensive. It offers a detailed look at crime, what may lead to it, and how criminal behavior may be prevented — all from a variety of theoretical perspectives. With a focus on serious crimes, particularly those involving violence, this text offers an all-inclusive look at a very complex field through effective and engaging material that has been classroom-tested for more than thirty years, Including crucial updates relating to crime definitions and diagnostic categories, as well as the most current statistics and recently proposed models and theories. Numerous topics — such as intimate partner violence, juvenile sex offending, terrorist recruitment, elderly abuse, and sexual burglary — now receive more extensive coverage than ever before.

SCHEDULE

UNIT 1                                    TEST: Thursday, September 14
Chapters 1-3.

UNIT 2                                    TEST: Thursday, October 5
Chapters 4-6.

UNIT 3                                    TEST: Thursday, November 2
Chapters 8, 9, 10.

UNIT 4                                    TEST: Thursday, November 30 [online]
Chapters 12-14.

FINAL – ON CAMPUS
Cumulative plus chapter 15.

• Monday, December 11, 3:00-4:50 OR
  Tuesday, December 12, 1:00-2:50 OR 3:00-4:50
  Location: McBrien Hall, room 311

Bring Scantron sheet and #2 pencil.

You are NOW responsible for making sure you can and will take your test at the scheduled time. Do not ask to take it early or late unless you have other finals at the time(s) listed above, and if so, tell me as soon as possible. Find out NOW when all your finals will be held. It’s no big deal if I need to add an extra time slot, but we all need to know that soon so I can make that time available as an option that anybody in the class can choose. If you have a conflict, tell me immediately. Otherwise, you might not be allowed to take the final at another time.

The final exam is cumulative and covers any assignments including your project. So take notes along the way. Make sure you know the most important concepts, prominent terms, and particularly the main point of each assigned reading or video.

GRADES

20% Project
25% Online assignments
30% Online tests
25% Cumulative final

The “total” or “average” shown in Canvas for the class can be misleading when it includes things that do not count as part of your grades and leaves out some things that do. Ignore that number. You will be able to see your test scores

EXAMS

Each 40-point test will consist of multiple-choice items plus a few open-answer questions.

Test questions range in difficulty to provide a very accurate idea as to how much of the course material you know and understand. I do not feel it is right to establish a curve based on the highest grade in the class, in which case only one score would determine everyone’s grade. The scale on the tests will be as follows:

A 35.1 –>       B 30.1 – 35       C 25.1 – 30       D 20.1 – 25       F <– 20

The professor reserves the right to subtract any number of points from the grade of someone who disrupts class, or to assign a course grade of F to cheaters.

There will be NO makeup tests. As long as you do not miss any quizzes or tests, your lowest test score will be dropped. If you miss a test and have an excused absence, it will be the score that gets dropped. (If you miss two and have medical documentation for both, contact your professor about arrangements.)

For each online test, you will have a 9-hour range (1:oo to 10:00 p.m.) in which to take it. You need to start before 9 p.m. to have at least an hour.

Once you start, a timer in Canvas will begin and will not stop even if you log out. Do not start the test until you are ready to complete it in one sitting. Because it’s online, you can’t simply look the test over and then come back hours later after looking up answers. For test security purposes, you will be required to download the Respondus lockdown browser and to have a functioning, moveable WEBCAM in order to record you and track your eye movements while you’re taking at least some of the tests. Your monitor’s built-in camera will NOT be sufficient because it cannot be moved about to show  the entire area around your computer during the environment check. If your environment check does not satisfy the professor for any reason, your test score will not count.

Writing Across the Curriculum: The last question on every multiple-choice test will be some version of “Since the previous test, what have you learned from the current course material that was not otherwise covered by this exam?” Write your answers in coherent sentences. In general, each distinct fact you provide will be worth half a point, up to the normal maximum of 3, so to earn full credit provide 6-8 distinct facts. Writing more could earn a little extra credit, up to an absolute maximum of 4, which would almost always bring your score up a full letter grade. Bad answer, not worth any credit: “We talked about status offenses, but you didn’t ask about them.” Good answer: “A status offense is a crime that would not normally be a crime, except that it is not legal due to the age of the person doing it, such as truancy, underage drinking, or running away from home.” Rather than just stating which topic was not covered by the test, tell what you learned about the topic.

INTERNET ASSIGNMENTS

To do your assignments, check the Discussions section for this class several times each week. You will either do each assignment on that discussion forum or learn from the forum where to go to do each task, such as when you have to take some practice quizzes in Canvas (normally the last week before finals). Each response you’re required to make counts as one point simply for following the instructions or minus one point (-1, negative credit) if you don’t do it. You will have several assignments every week. Because missing an assignment in an online class counts as missing class, anyone who fails to do three or more of the assignments may be dropped from the course without further notice.

Do NOT email your work to your professor. Emailing it instead of posting it where it’s supposed to go counts as missing the assignment altogether, plus you’ll lose points from your overall grade.

DEADLINES

Assignments are due at the end of each week, which is normally set as 5 minutes before midnight that Saturday. The week’s assignments are posted on the Canvas discussion forum by the end of each Wednesday, and they often appear earlier in the week. If you see no new assignments by Thursday, ask the professor in case of a Canvas error.

You can get half credit for up to three assignments completed Sunday – three, no more. No later work will count toward your grade. Meet the deadlines. Some tasks cannot be done late at all.

A few students misunderstand what a “private” topic is on the discussion forum. It is simply one where you cannot see other students’ responses. It is a regular assignment just like anything else, worth the same as other assignments. Do not skip them.

If you wait until that last day and something goes wrong that keeps you from doing the assignment, well, you should have done it earlier because you’ll normally have several days to complete each task. If your Internet is out all day, you are responsible for going somewhere with Internet access. If your wifi is out, you can probably use your phone to create a hotspot with access. The Internet is all around us, the ways to access it are many, and you have chosen to take an online class. Internet access is your responsibility.

PROJECTS

You will each complete a writing project this semester. More information on that will follow soon.

Syllabus Part II: Expected Learning Outcomes, Computer Tips, Disability Services
(not covered by syllabus quiz)

Any information in this syllabus may be subject to change, correction, or other revision.