Mar 28, 2024  
Academic Catalog 2016-2017 
    
Academic Catalog 2016-2017 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

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PSY-731 Health Psychology

4 semester credits


This course recognizes the broadening role of psychologists in health care settings. Students examine psychological principles and interventions to treat and prevent illness, promote health, and analyze and improve the health care system. Topics include research on the interaction of psychology, biology, sociology, anthropology, economics, and the environment, as well as controversies, current research, and interventions in the field.
Pre-requisites: Clinical: PSY-701A , PSY-707  

Media: PSY-540A  
Delivery Method: Distance/Electronically Mediated
Note: Elective
Grading Default: Letter
Learning Objective(s):  

1. Be familiar with a variety of current approaches to define “Health.”

2. Know how recent research and changes in health patterns have contributed to new ways of understanding the mind-body problem.

3. Be able to integrate current research in the following areas into a conceptualization of health and illness: genetic and conceptualization factors, developmental factors, personality factors, behavioral factors, health care system factors, culture and gender, neurological, physiological, pharmacology factors, environmental/ecological factors.

4. Be able to read, evaluate, and integrate research and research methods utilized to study health and illness behaviors, particularly epidemiological research methods.

5. Understand the importance of gender and diversity issues in health psychology research and the dangers inherent in neglecting these critical variables.

6. Be able to identify and connect the relationships between health and healing to social values and individual belief systems.

7. Be familiar with how brain mechanisms and various psychology/personality factors affect the body’s health.

8. Be familiar with interdisciplinary professional issues which arise in the settings in which health psychologist work.

9. Be familiar with legal and ethical issues unique to health psychology.



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