Module PSYC3881: Promoting Physical Health and Wellbeing

Department: Psychology

PSYC3881: Promoting Physical Health and Wellbeing

Prerequisites

• 60 credits from Level 2 Psychology

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• How can we make people healthier and improve their wellbeing? This module aims to allow the student to contextualise and apply psychological concepts, theories, and research to promote people’s physical health and enhance their wellbeing.

Content

• This module considers how we can make people healthier and improve their wellbeing. You will learn about psychological theories and approaches that have been applied to promoting physical health and preventing disease in humans. You will also explore current understandings of the nature of happiness and human flourishing and how they can be applied to enhance well-being in yourself and others.
• The module will also cover theoretical frameworks that promote behaviour change, enhance self-regulation or modify motivational processes, such as desires or craving.
• The module will also cover related conceptual and historical issues in psychology, such as the question of whether ‘addiction’ concepts should be applied to the study of eating behaviours.

Learning Outcomes

• Detailed knowledge of key theories and research in psychology and application to the design of behaviour change interventions.
• Detailed knowledge of psychological perspectives for understanding and enhancing happiness and human flourishing, including current theory and evidence.

• Ability to review critically and consolidate understanding of a coherent body of psychological knowledge and apply it appropriately.

• Good written communication skills
• Good IT skills in word processing
• Ability to work independently in scholarship and research within broad guidelines.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• All modes of teaching are designed to promote critical evaluation of evidence and arguments, to adopt different theoretical positions, and to interpret empirical work in terms of its application to promoting physical health and wellbeing.
• Knowledge and understanding is developed through the lectures, within-lecture interactive elements such as discussions, guided pre-lecture preparation, audio-visual materials, and reading lists.
• The use of within-lecture group discussions / small group work will ensure that students are exposed to a range of different theoretical positions and encouraged to understand their applications.
• The summative assessments will provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities to appraise and critically evaluate empirical evidence and theoretical claims, and to apply them to relevant real-world issues.
• Students' knowledge and understanding of the subject matter of the module as taught and from further reading and their analytical skills, will be summatively assessed through examination.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

None.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University