DAVID GAME COLLEGE
DAVID GAME COLLEGE
BTEC RQF HNC/D ASSESSMENT BRIEF
Course Higher National Diploma in Public Services
Academic Year 2023/2024
Unit Number & Unit Title Unit 27: Psychology of Behaviour
Assignment Author Prosperine ChibuleAssessors Prosperine Chibule; Magda MASZCZYNSKA; Andrew THOMAS
Assignment Title Psychology of Behaviour
Date issued January 2024IV Name and Date Khetish Hurry 26/01/2024
Formative Submission Deadline Summative Submission Deadline
Group Deadline Group Deadline
All groups 17th February 2024 All groups 19th April 2024
Good Academic Practice
DGHE considers an act of academic misconduct when a student attempts to benefit either for themselves or for another person by unfair or improper methods, regardless of it being intentional or unintentional.
Examples include:
Purchasing work and presenting it as your own.
Plagiarism is passing off someone elses work as your own such as:
oUsing quotes without the use of quotation marks.
oUsing images produced by another person without acknowledgement.
oUsing data or ideas without acknowledgement.
oCopying another persons work.
oGetting someone to help you write parts of your submission as if it were your own.
Collusion is when two or more students working together without prior authorisation from the academic member of staff concerned (e.g. programme leader, lecturer etc.) to produce the same or similar piece of work and then attempting to present this entirely as their own individual submission.
It is important that you are clear about what you need to do for each assignment and how you can do it. If you are not sure about any rules regarding academic writing and referencing, guidance is available from many DGHE sources including Moodle, our Library and Study Skills Support teams and from your module leaders/personal tutor.
ASSIGNMENT BRIEF AND GUIDANCE
Purpose of this assessment
The assignment is designed to test students understanding of psychological approaches and their application to public services and criminal behaviour.
Scenario
In 2016, a project called Beyond Youth Custody found a correlation between trauma and violent crimes among young people. The project reported that 91% of young offenders have experienced trauma resulting from abuse or loss. Following this concerning report, the Ministry of Justice has taken the initiatives to implement a trauma-informed practice across the agencies of the justice system (Tribunals, police, prisons, courts, youth offending services). Trauma-informed approach could be defined as a system of development which is rooted in a complete understanding of how the exposure to traumatic events and incidents may affect the users of public services (the justice system in our scenario) and impact their neurological, biological, psychological and social development (Paterson, 2014). As a civil servant, you have been tasked to present a report in which you assess the efficiency of considering psychological approaches in the justice system. Your report is expected to address the following elements.
Task 1
1. A contextual introduction which signposts the report (around 250 words)
2. Investigate psychological perspectives and how they influence behaviour (1000 words)
Try to keep the discussion focused and concentrated here. First, read the full task and then decide on two theories you may wish to discuss, keeping in mind how they may back up and support your overall argument for the Ministry of Justice to implement trauma-informed practices.
For your discussion to stand out:
Assess the similarities and differences between these theories in explaining human behaviour.
Analyse why an understanding and knowledge of your chosen theories is relevant to public services and to understanding social influence on behaviour.
In the light of the findings in Beyond Youth Custody report, how does this theoretical understanding contribute to an effective implementation of trauma-informed approach?
3. Investigate theories of criminal behaviour and casual factors (700 words)
Analyse a real-world crime, applying psychological theory and identifying causal factors, influences, and contributory factors. You are also expected to link your analysis to theories of criminal behaviour and indicate how the traumatic background of the offender may have contributed to their behaviour.
4. Assess how psychological perspectives, such as trauma-informed practice, are applied in the public services. (800 words)
Explain how psychological perspectives can be applied by individuals and teams in the public services to reduce criminal behaviour.
Do you think the Ministry of Justice has taken sufficient measures to address the need to adopt trauma-informed approach across its agencies? What is the evidence? (Tips: consider reoffending rates, rehabilitation programmes, the use of restorative justiceetc)
5. A rational conclusion influenced by your findings (around 250 words).
6. An accurate reference list of at least 15 different sources.
This provides evidence for ALL Learning Outcomes
Word count: 3,000 (+/ 10%) [not including reference list]
Submission Format
The final submission for task 1 is in the form of a report.
You are required to make use of appropriate headings and paragraphs. All work must be supported with research and referenced using the Harvard referencing system. Use appropriate case studies, legislation and policy, organisational examples and academic theory to support your findings.
All work to be submitted as Arial 12 font with 1.5 line spacing. Written work must state the total number of words used at the end of the report [before the reference list].
Final submission will be uploaded via Moodle to the relevant submission point on 19th April 2024. Hard copies submitted to the lecturer will not be accepted or marked.
Formative Task
The formative task will be a draft of element 2 in Task 1, which includes content covered between week 1 and week 3 as outlined in the scheme of work.
The submission for this task will be submitted to the relevant formative submission point on Moodle on 17th February 2024.
Feedback will be provided but not graded.
Word count: 1,000 (+/ 10%) [not including reference list]
The current Assignment Brief covers the following Learning Outcomes
Grading Criteria
Learning Outcomes Pass Merit Distinction Task No. Evidence
LO1 Investigate psychological perspectives P1 Describe a range of
psychological
perspectives and how
they explain human
behaviour. M1 Assess the
similarities and
differences between
psychological
perspectives in explaining
human behaviour. D1 Analyse why an
understanding and
knowledge of
psychological
perspectives and social
influence is relevant to
the public services. 1 Report
LO2 Identify the effect of social influence on
behaviour P2 Define the research
into group influence,
conformity and obedience
and how human
behaviour is affected. M2 Analyse the
consequences of
prejudice and
discrimination within the
public services. D1 Analyse why an
understanding and
knowledge of
psychological
perspectives and social
influence is relevant to
the public services. 1 Report
LO3 Investigate theories of criminal behaviour and
causal factors P3 Outline the influences
and factors which may
contribute to criminal
activity. M3 Investigate the major
theories of criminal
behaviour. D2 Analyse a real-world
crime, applying
psychological theory and
identifying the causal
factors, influences and
contributory factors. 1 Report
LO4 Assess how psychological perspectives are
applied in the public services. P4 Explain how
psychological
perspectives can be
applied by individuals in
the public services.
P5 Define how
psychological
perspectives can be
applied to teams within
the public services. M4 Assess how
psychology is practically
applied by the public
services to reduce
criminal behaviour. D3 Evaluate how
psychological perspective
is applied to the work of
a range of public
services. 1 Report
Student Achievements and Assessor Feedback
Student achievement and Assessor feedback for both formative and summative submissions will be recorded within Grademark Turnitin via Moodle and will be available for students to view as notified on Turnitin. Please use exclusively the grade classification below.
Assessment Grading Scale
Grade Classification Numeric Value (on Grademark) Grade Listed As
Distinction 75 D
Merit 65 M
Pass 45 P
Unclassified/ Referred 35 U
Alleged Academic Misconduct 0 SP
Student submission and declaration
The following declaration will be inserted in the Turnitin link for both formative and summative submissions:
I certify that by submitting the work for this assessment on Moodle (and via Turnitin) it is my own work and all research sources are fully acknowledged using the Harvard system of references. I certify that there are no personal or mitigating circumstances that have affected my work.
By submitting such a document, you acknowledge that your work is your own, and abides by the DGHE code of conduct, and Pearson regulations.
Please note that in case of academic malpractice DGHE reserves the right to decline to accept the work for assessment purposes, and/or conduct an investigation, which might result in an oral presentation, oral or written exam, or any other appropriate form of examination. Further information can be found in the academic integrity and misconduct policy, the assessment policy, and the student handbook.
Understanding what a command verb is
Your assignment will always have a series of questions or points that you will need to address. The first step in successfully addressing your assignment questions is by understanding what your lecturer wants from you, and this means understanding the command verb of the question.
What is a command verb?
This is constituted by an imperative verb that gives you a specific instruction.
What are the common command verbs your assignment has and what they mean?
The following is not a complete list however, it can help you to understand what is expected of you.
Explain = to describe a situation in detail or present relevant facts. E.g., To say its a chair, its descriptive but not explanatory, to say its a wooden chair, made of mango woods, that has four legs, and an arm rest, is to explain.
Assess = to evaluate the relevance of something. E.g. To say Brexit is an important event in the UK, is factual but not evaluative. To say that the impact of Brexit on the automotive industry is yet to be determined, but a likely estimate situates a loss of manufacturing plants, and consequently jobs in the UK, is evaluative.
Compare = to measure how similar or different something is. E.g. To say that surrealism is different from cubism, is to state a fact. However, to state that while both movements are considered modern art, cubism popularised by Picasso, breaks down the subject matter and reassembles it in an abstract form, while surrealism, popularised by Salvador Dali, focuses on the subconscious mind and portrays everyday objects in a unfamiliar setting.
Analyse = to examine something in detail. E.g. To say that the UK judicial system is complex is too simple however, to say that the UK judicial system is complex due to historical reasons, and that has led to separate jurisdictions with one system for England and Wales, another for Scotland, and another for Northern Ireland. In England Wales at the lower instance you have the magistrate courts and tribunals, followed by the crown court, and the county court, high court and court of appeal (detailing what are the key functions for each of these and how the interrelate with one another, and for the other judiciary systems, and finalising with the UK Supreme Court is to analyse a subject).
Dont forget you can always refer to your lecturer for other verbs not included here or your study skills tutor.
