Cursos / 1º Ciclo / Faculty of Law :: Criminology

COMPORTAMENTO DESVIANTE - 2020/2021

1º curricular year
Semestralidade: 1st semester
ECTS: 6

Teachers

Leading Teacher: Mestre Josefina Castro
Assistant Professor: Mestre Josefina Castro

Class type and School hours

Teórico-prática : 2 Horas
Orientação Tutorial : 1 Horas

Teaching Language

Portuguese

Main Aims/Objectives

The main aim of the UC is to introduce students to recent theoretical and empirical contributions from biological and psychological sciences, particularly psychology, to the criminological domain, namely for the description and explanation of deviant behaviour (DB) and crime.

Specific Aims/Objectives

By the end of the UC, students are expected to:
- Identify the main epistemo-theoretical coordinates of the scientific study in the domain of deviant behaviour and crime;
-Be acquainted with the theoretical contributions from the Psychological Sciences for the understanding of delinquent and deviant behavior;
- Have acquired basic notions of biological sciences, and be able to identify the main lines of research and contributions of biological sciences in the domain.

Skills to be acquired

By the end of the Curricular Unit, students are expected to:
- Have developed conceptual and theoretical skills for an integrative approach of relevant problems;
- To have acquired methodological notions and analytical skills and become familiar with relevant empirical research in the field under study.

Teaching Procedures

Classes combine theoretical moments, aimed at exposing and discussing the main contents of the program with practical moments in which relevant empirical studies in the domain

Programme

I. The Sciences of Deviant Behavior: general introduction
1. Deviant behavior and related concepts
2. The scientific study of deviant and criminal behaviour:
2.1. Historical and disciplinary developments in the domain
2.2. Elements of epistemological analysis: Description, explanation and comprehension; Dimensions and levels of analysis; Correlates and processes.
2.3. Introduction to research methods

II- Psychology, deviant and criminal behavior
1. Psychology: introduction
2. Personality, psychological processes and deviant/criminal behaviour: theoretical contributions and empirical research
2.1 Main theoretical orientations in Psychology and Personality Psychology: Psychodynamic; Behaviorist; Phenomenological and humanistic; Social learning and cognition; Trait theories and respective biological bases; Evolutionary psychology
2.2. Correlates and psychological processes of deviant behaviour and crime - theoretical-empirical research: Intelligence and cognitive functioning; Regulation, self-control and impulsiveness; Psychological processes in social models.

III- Biological sciences of deviant and criminal behavior
1. Introduction to the levels of biological analysis
2. Contributions of biological sciences to the study of DB and crime
2.1. Genetics and deviant behavior: basic notions of genetics; Behavioural genetics studies; Molecular genetics studies;
2.2. Psychophysiological and biochemical studies
2.3. Neuropsychological studies

IV. Integration of different fields of knowledge and levels of analysis
1. Genes, environment and interaction models
2. Aggression and violent crime: Types of aggressive behaviour; Theories of aggression; Biosocial interactions and correlates of aggressive and violent behavior; Violence and developmental trajectories.

Evaluation Type

Two tests
One written assignment and oral discussion

Teaching Resources

Scientific publications; electronic databases

Sustainability Objectives

Keywords

Deviant behaviour
Crime
Psychology
Biology
Biossocial Criminology

Main Bibliography

Complementary Bibliography