Course

Health Psychology

Faculty
Humanities and Social Sciences
Department
Psychology
Course code
PSYC 3304
Credits
3.00
Semester length
15 weeks
Max class size
35
Method(s) of instruction
Lecture
Course designation
None
Industry designation
None
Typically offered
To be determined

Overview

Course description
This course provides a critical survey of the basic research findings and theory on the relation between psychological factors (including behaviour, emotion, cognition, personality, and interpersonal relationships) and health. Topics include health-related behaviours such as smoking and drug use, the effect of stressful events on health and performance, methods for coping with stress, exercise psychology, the impact of chronic illness on the family, and social support systems.
Course content
  1. Introduction.
  2. Stress Physiology.
  3. Stress: Meaning, Impact, and Sources.
  4. Stress: Biopsychosocial Factors and Illness.
  5. Stress and Coping.
  6. Health-Related Behaviour and Health Promotion.
  7. Reducing Substance Use and Abuse.
  8. Nutrition and Weight Control.
  9. Physical Exercise and Safety.
  10. Behavioural Factors in Illness.
  11. Hospitalization: Setting and Impact.
  12. Pain and Pain Management.
  13. Chronic and Terminal Health Problems.
  14. Health Psychology: Future Directions.
Learning activities

This course will involve a number of instructional methods, such as the following:

  • lectures
  • audio visual materials
  • small group discussions
  • class discussions
  • classroom exercises
  • computer simulation exercises
Means of assessment

The course evaluation will be carried out in accordance with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy and Psychology Department Policy.  Evaluations will be based on course objectives. Specific evaluation criteria will be provided by the instructor at the beginning of the semester. 

Instructors may use a student’s record of attendance and/or level of active participation in a course as part of the student’s graded performance. Where this occurs, expectations and grade calculations regarding class attendance and participation must be clearly defined in the Instructor Course Outline.

An example of a possible evaluation scheme would be:

Three tests (worth 15% each)                                        45%

Literature review paper/personal health project                30%

Final exam                                                                    25%

                                                                                  100%

 

This is a letter-graded course. 

Learning outcomes

At the conclusion of the course the successful student will be able to:

  1. Define Health Psychology.
  2. Explain the biopsychosocial model.
  3. Describe historical viewpoints on disease processes and the mind.
  4. Distinguish between mind-body dualism and a systems approach.
  5. Explain the research methods used in health psychology.
  6. Evaluate research ethics and responsibilities.
  7. Describe the structure and function of the human nervous system, endocrine system, digestive system, respiratory system, cardiovascular system, immune system, and reproductive system.
  8. Define human stress.
  9. Explain the transactional model of stress.
  10. Distinguish between physical stressors and cognitive stressors.
  11. Evaluate methods of measuring stress.
  12. Describe psychosocial modulators of stress.
  13. Explain coronary prone behaviour.
  14. Evaluate the relationship between behaviour and illness.
  15. Describe the psychopathology of stress-related diseases.
  16. Identify stress-related diseases and psychophysiological disorders.
  17. Define coping.
  18. Identify methods of coping.
  19. Evaluate self-regulation strategies, cognitive strategies, and ergonomics, as applied to stress reduction.
  20. Describe the research focus on health and lifestyle.
  21. Evaluate health-related behaviour and health promotion methods.
  22. Identify the types of health services in medical treatment.
  23. Describe compliance strategies related to adhering to medical advice.
  24. Identify the nature and symptoms of pain.
  25. Describe the theories of pain.
  26. Evaluate behavioural and cognitive methods for treating pain.
  27. Evaluate the impact of culture and other diversity factors on health and health behaviour. 
Textbook materials

Example textbooks include:

Hadjistavropoulos, T., & Hadjistavropoulos, H.D. (Editors) (current edition). Fundamentals of Health Psychology. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.

Brannon, L., Updegraff, J. A., & Feist, J. (current edition). Health Psychology: An Introduction to Behavior and Health. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Poole, G., Matheson, D.H., & Cox, D.N., (current edition) The Psychology of Health and Health Care: A Canadian Perspective. Toronto, Canada: Pearson Publishing.

Requisites

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

(Current)

Course Transfers to Other Institutions

Below are current transfer agreements from Douglas College to other institutions for the current course guidelines only. For a full list of transfer details and archived courses, please see the BC Transfer Guide.

Institution Transfer details for PSYC 3304
Capilano University (CAPU) CAPU PSYC 2XX (3)
Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) KPU PSYC 3600 (3)
Langara College (LANG) LANG PSYC 2323 (3)
Simon Fraser University (SFU) SFU PSYC 365 (3)
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) TRU PSYC 2XXX (3)
Trinity Western University (TWU) TWU PSYC 2XX (3)
University of British Columbia - Okanagan (UBCO) UBCO PSYO_O 2nd (3)
University of British Columbia - Vancouver (UBCV) UBCV PSYC_V 2nd (3)
University of Northern BC (UNBC) UNBC PSYC 309 (3)
University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) UFV PSYC 343 (3)
University of Victoria (UVIC) UVIC PSYC 2XX (1.5)
Vancouver Island University (VIU) VIU PSYC 327 (3)

Course Offerings

Winter 2027

CRN Days Instructor Status
Maximum seats
35
Currently enrolled
0
Remaining seats:
35
On waitlist
0
Building
New Westminster - South Bldg.
Room
S0660
Times:
Start Time
18:30
-
End Time
21:20