Psychology 2036B-001
The Psychology of Physical Health and Illness
If there is a discrepancy between the outline posted below and the outline posted on the OWL course website, the latter shall prevail.
1.0 CALENDAR DESCRIPTION
This course will cover the role of psychological factors in the prevention of illness and the maintenance of good health, and treatment of already-existing illness. Topics include the stress/illness relationship, psychological influences on physical symptom perception and reporting, personality and health, behavioural factors in disease, coping, as well as adherence and compliance.
Antirequisites: Psychology 2330A/B, Psychology 3330F/G
- Antirequisites are courses that overlap sufficiently in content that only one can be taken for credit. Therefore, if this course has an antirequisite that you have previously taken, you will lose credit for the earlier course, regardless of the grade achieved in this one.
3 lecture hours, 0.5 course
2.0 COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: Eric Collins, BHSc, MSc, PhD (c)
Office: Social Science Centre 7440 (shared space)
Office Hours: To be announced (TBA)
Email: ecollin9@uwo.ca (48-hour response time or 72-hours during exam season and holidays)
Classroom: Social Sciences Centre 2050
Class Hours: Mondays 7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
If you or someone you know is experiencing distress, there are several resources here at Western to assist you. Please visit: http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for more information on these resources and on mental health.
Please contact the course instructor if you require material in an alternate format or if you require any other arrangements to make this course more accessible to you. You may also wish to contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) at 519-661-2111 ext 82147 for any specific question regarding an accommodation.
3.0 TEXTBOOK (required)
Poole, G., Matheson, D., & Cox, D. (2016). The psychology of health and health care. A Canadian perspective. Fifth edition. Pearson: Toronto
4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES
In this course we will explore health psychology and its influence on human health and the health care system. We will investigate health psychology from its inception to its current application to human health and health care. This course will also examine stress and coping by highlighting some of its most important theories and models. Our focus will then shift to the field of psychoneuroimmunology, which is an area that inspects the relationship between human biology and psychology.
The next topic is health communication, which assesses the dynamics of physician-patient relationships. Thereafter, our attention turns to human health and physical activity, specifically the interconnection between physical activity, psychology, and health. Health compromising behaviours such as drug use and eating disorders will also be surveyed. Subsequently, we will navigate the issues of chronic and life-threatening illnesses such as cancer and explore its impact on health psychology.
Next, we will study the topic of pain through theoretical constructs and clinical application. The health care system will also be probed to help illuminate issues such as medical care and patient autonomy.
Near the end of the term, our focus turns to the social-ecological model, which will assess the impact of the social determinants of health and their impact on a macro level.
Lastly, we will be introduced to the concept of health promotion and delve into its application and theoretical underpinnings.
4.1 STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
|
Learning Outcome |
Learning Activity |
Learning Assessment |
|
Depth and Breadth of Knowledge: Understand ways in which social psychological processes occur in daily life, such as how people perceive themselves and others and how they interact with the surrounding environment |
· Lectures · Readings |
· Multiple-choice quizzes · Multiple-choice exams |
|
Application of Knowledge: Interpret social psychological situations in order to make predictions about behaviour |
· Lectures · Readings |
· Multiple-choice quizzes · Multiple-choice exams |
|
Application of Methodologies: Explain the scientific study of social psychology to a non-academic/non- psychologist |
· Lectures · Readings |
· Multiple-choice quizzes · Multiple-choice exams |
5.0 EVALUATION
Two online mid-term quizzes (5%) and (5%): There are two multiple-choice, online mid-term quizzes, non-cumulative in content. The first online mid- term quiz takes place at the end of week 4 and covers content from chapters 1-3. The second online mid- term quiz takes place at the end of week 10 and covers content from chapters 7-9. Each quiz consists of 15 questions. Both quizzes will be an open-book format but will include a time-limit. Please make sure you have a strong internet connection before beginning each quiz. Please note: any student suspected of cheating will face serious academic penalties (see section 8.0 of the course outline). Western University has developed new anti-cheating technology that allows course instructors to better identify cheating when it occurs.
Two multiple-choice exams (40%) and (50%) of the course grade: There are two multiple-choice exams. The exams cover material from the textbook and PowerPoints on OWL. The mid-term contains 60 questions and covers chapters 1-5. The final exam is cumulative, contains 75 questions and covers chapters 1-11. Students will have a 2-hour limit to complete the mid-term exam, and a 3-hour limit to complete the final exam. No electronic devices, including smartphones and smartwatches are permitted during exams. Bring your Western student card and a No. 2/HB pencil to the exams.
According to university policy, the Academic Counsellor--not the course instructor--processes all cases of missing an exam. If you need to miss an exam for any reason, you are required to contact your Academic Counsellor in a timely fashion and be prepared to submit to them the necessary supporting documentation (see Section 9.0 of this course outline). Have your Academic Counsellor inform me in writing (e.g., e-mail) about the outcome of his or her discussion with you.
Although the Psychology Department does not require instructors to adjust their course grades to conform to specific targets, the expectation is that course marks will be distributed around the following averages:
70% 1000-level and 2000-level courses
72% 2190-2990 level courses
75% 3000-level courses
80% 4000-level courses
The Psychology Department follows Western's grading guidelines, which are as follows (see http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/general/grades_undergrad.pdf):
A+ 90-100 One could scarcely expect better from a student at this level
A 80-89 Superior work that is clearly above average
B 70-79 Good work, meeting all requirements, and eminently satisfactory
C 60-69 Competent work, meeting requirements
D 50-59 Fair work, minimally acceptable
F below 50 Fail
6.0 TEST AND EXAMINATION SCHEDULE
Midterm-Exam (40%): This exam covers content from chapters 1-5. Time and location are TBA.
Final Exam (50%): This a cumulative exam, which covers content from all chapters. Date, time, and location TBA. As a reminder, do not make plans for travel during the final exam period until you know when your final exams will be.
Grade Distribution
|
Component |
Value % |
|
Mid-Term Quiz #1 |
5 |
|
Mid-Term Quiz #2 |
5 |
|
Mid-Term Exam |
40 |
|
Final Exam |
50 |
|
Total |
100 |
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
An assigned textbook chapter means that all the pages in that chapter are assigned as reading. The weekly PowerPoints on OWL expands on material found in the textbook. For the exams, you are responsible for the material in the textbook, as well as the PowerPoints on OWL.
|
Week |
Day |
Topic |
Readings |
|
1 |
Jan 7 |
Welcome to health psychology |
Chapter 1, p. 1-23 |
|
2 |
Jan 14 |
Stress and coping |
Chapter 2, p. 22-50 |
|
3 |
Jan 21 |
Psychoneuroimmunology |
Chapter 3, p. 51-75 |
|
4 |
Jan 28 |
Health communication |
Chapter 4, p. 76-105 |
|
|
Feb 2-3 |
Online Mid-Term Quiz #1 |
Chapter 1-3 |
|
5 |
Feb 4 |
Health and physical activity |
Chapter 5, p. 106-134 |
|
|
Feb 9 |
Mid-Term Exam |
Chapters 1-5 |
|
6 |
Feb 11 |
Health-compromising behaviours |
Chapter 6, p. 135-174 |
|
7 |
Feb 18 |
Reading Week |
No Readings |
|
8 |
Feb 25 |
Chronic and life-threatening illness |
Chapter 7, p. 176-204 |
|
9 |
Mar 4 |
Pain |
Chapter 8, p. 206-240 |
|
10 |
Mar 11 |
The world of health care: Places, procedures, and people |
Chapter 9, p. 241-277 |
|
|
Mar 16-17 |
Online Mid-Term Quiz #2 |
Chapters 7-9 |
|
11 |
Mar 18 |
From one to many: Health on a large scale |
Chapter 10, p. 279-300 |
|
12 |
Mar 25 |
Health promotion |
Chapter 11, p. 302-321 |
|
|
TBA Apr 11-30 |
Final Exam |
Cumulative (all chapters) |
8.0 STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC OFFENCES
Students are responsible for understanding the nature and avoiding the occurrence of plagiarism and other scholastic offenses. Plagiarism and cheating are considered very serious offenses because they undermine the integrity of research and education. Actions constituting a scholastic offense are described at the following link: http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf
As of Sept. 1, 2009, the Department of Psychology will take the following steps to detect scholastic offenses. All multiple-choice tests and exams will be checked for similarities in the pattern of responses using reliable software, and records will be made of student seating locations in all tests and exams. All written assignments will be submitted to TurnItIn, a service designed to detect and deter plagiarism by comparing written material to over 5 billion pages of content located on the Internet or in TurnItIn’s databases. All papers submitted for such checking will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently between Western and Turnitin.com http://www.turnitin.com
Possible penalties for a scholastic offense include failure of the assignment, failure of the course, suspension from the University, and expulsion from the University.
9.0 POLICY ON ACCOMMODATION FOR MEDICAL ILLNESS
Western’s policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness can be found at:
http://westerncalendar.uwo.ca/PolicyPages.cfm?Command=showCategory&PolicyCategoryID=1&SelectedCalendar=Live&ArchiveID=#Page_12
Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain accommodation:
http://counselling.ssc.uwo.ca/procedures/medical_accommodation.html
10.0 OTHER INFORMATION
Office of the Registrar web site: http://registrar.uwo.ca
Student Development Services web site: http://www.sdc.uwo.ca
Please see the Psychology Undergraduate web site for information on the following:
http://psychology.uwo.ca/undergraduate/student_responsibilities/index.html
- Policy on Cheating and Academic Misconduct
- Procedures for Appealing Academic Evaluations
- Policy on Attendance
- Policy Regarding Makeup Exams and Extensions of Deadlines
- Policy for Assignments
- Short Absences
- Extended Absences
- Documentation
- Academic Concerns
- 2018 Calendar References
No electronic devices, including cell phones and smart watches, will be allowed during exams.
