My Interest in Criminal Psychology Course

As humans we have an inordinate and undying thirst for knowledge; we wish to make more sense of our lives and desire to understand the convolution of our mysterious intellect. I have strong beliefs in that psychology impacts our decisions in the natural world and it is responsible for the creation of our own characters. I wish to study this course to gain an insight into the complex nature of our minds, as well as to discover the reasoning behind our individuality and uniqueness from one another despite a great similarity in genetics and DNA.

Throughout the time of my stay at college, my ambition to discover more about our minds has been amplified through my study of psychology. I instantly became intrigued with various aspects of the course and in particular, many past psychological studies have been of great curiosity to me and have aided in my interests. For example, Zimbardo’s study in regard to conformity into social roles was one of great fascination to me. I found it flabbergasting in that there was numerous atrocities committed against the prisoners all due to them believing they were a superior figure . What interests me in particular is the nature of the criminal mind and how some people are driven to commit barbaric crimes. As a result of my interests, I have been weighing up the possibility of a future career surrounding forensic psychology, despite this, I am zealous in regard to every area of psychology and I believe that a higher education will assist in determining the correct career route for myself.

Regarding my other subjects, both law and history, I have developed a substantial amount of additional skills and knowledge which benefit a future education in psychology. One key skill I obtained from my study into both history and law is analytic skills. History and law persistently demand evaluation to a high academic level and look at statements in which you must be creative and be able to counter your own argument. I was surprised to find in law so much information surrounding the psychological aspects. The mental state of criminals is took into consideration with even the smallest details such as different sentences for re offenders. This has all but given me a deeper interest in psychology as I realised that it can be applied to all aspects of our existence.

Additionally, as a college enrichment I decided to select the criminology programme which helped me to figure a far deeper understanding of the criminal mind. One of my tasks was a group presentation on an infamous killer named “Gary Ridgway”. During this assignment, not only did I ascertain knowledge on potential factors leading to one straying down a path of criminal behaviour, I further developed practical skills through planning, analysing and working as a team. Being the leader of my team also helped mature my leadership skills, which I already had some experience due to my long stay in scouting, in which I have various scouting awards such as the chief scout gold award. I had further participated in a two day work experience at Evershed’s Sutherland law firm, in which I had picked up on presentation skills as well as advice on how to sound more convincing in an argument, which can be used in psychology not only to present new ideas but to come across as undoubted and confident as possible.

Overall, I am cognisant that there are strong efforts which are expected of me on this course but I believe that I am more than capable of being able to keep up with the demands. I am excited to further my knowledge in this subject and to ultimately discover more about our multifaceted minds. By taking part on this course, I will gain the adequate amount of knowledge and experience in order to progress down the route of psychology, which will support me in uncovering my career in this area.