HLTHPSYC 122 : Behaviour, Health and Development

Medical and Health Sciences

2020 Semester Two (1205) (15 POINTS)

Course Prescription

Introduction to the relationship between behaviour and the major biological, cognitive and social-emotional processes, applying them to health and development across the life span. Focuses on aspects of behaviour and development particularly relevant for the healthcare professional.

Course Overview

Integrating biological, psychological and social-emotional perspectives on human behaviour, health and development, this is the core psychology foundational course for students in the health sciences and those preparing for a range of clinical pathways, including pharmacy, medicine, nursing and medical imaging.
The objective is to enable students to apply psychological principles and theory using the biopsychosocial lifespan model to health care practice, their understanding of the health, behaviour and development of patients and the wider population and to their own health and lifestyle (e.g. eating a balanced diet, sleeping well, improving memory/learning).
This course provides an introduction to:
•    Psychology and psychological research methods
•    The brain and nervous system as a basis for the biological understanding of human behaviour and development
•    Mental processes (cognition), such as perceiving the world, memory, thinking, decision‐making, and problem‐solving, and how they develop across the lifespan
•    The way in which people learn and how principles of learning can be used to modify behaviour.
•    Social and emotional influences on development and health behaviour (e.g. adherence to medication)
•    Key areas of health psychology, mental health, and psychopathology

Course Requirements

Restriction: POPLHLTH 122

Capabilities Developed in this Course

Capability 1: Disciplinary Knowledge and Practice
Capability 2: Critical Thinking
Capability 3: Solution Seeking
Capability 4: Communication and Engagement
Capability 5: Independence and Integrity

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Understand and explain how key psychological and developmental theories can contribute to: a) An understanding of the causes of disease, illness and psychopathology; b) Informing our health care practice; c) Promoting positive or reducing negative health behaviours. (Capability 1.1, 1.2 and 2.1)
  2. Describe social, emotional, cognitive and developmental factors that are likely to affect physical and mental health across the life course. (Capability 1.1, 1.2 and 2.1)
  3. Understand and apply behavioural principles and theories of learning to design, implement and evaluate an individual behaviour modification programme. (Capability 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 4.1 and 5.1)
  4. Describe key factors that support or hinder adherence to treatment and health promotions (Capability 1.1 and 1.2)
  5. Understand and explain the role of stress and coping on health and illness across the lifespan (Capability 1.2)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
Quizzes 10% Individual Test
Test 20% Individual Test
Assignments 30% Individual Coursework
Final Exam 40% Individual Examination
Assessment Type Learning Outcome Addressed
1 2 3 4 5
Quizzes
Test
Assignments
Final Exam
The course CANVAS page has detailed information on assessment structure, extensions and minimum pass rates.

Learning Resources

The majority of the required readings are in the textbook (Australian edition).  Additional readings are linked to the course reading list page on CANVAS. All readings are examinable.

Required text: Lilienfeld, S. O., Lynn, S. J., Namy, L. L., Jamieson, G., Marks, A. & Slaughter, V. (2019). Psychology: From inquiry to understanding (3rd Australian ed.). Melbourne, Victoria: Pearson Australia

•    Textbook (ISBN 9781488615740) $148 from ubiq
•    Interactive e-Text (ISBN 9781488620355) $60 via Pearson https://pearsoned.co.nz/9781488620355

There are copies available from the Philson library at the Grafton campus
•    Seven copies in main collection (60 day loan)
•    Three copies on short loan (2 hours).

Course Contacts

Contact your tutor for all course content queries in the first instance.
Course Coordinators: Dr Suzanne Stevens: s.stevens@auckland.ac.nz and Dr Karolina Stasiak: k.stasiak@auckland.ac.nz
Senior Tutor: Dr Lisa Underwood: l.underwood@auckland.ac.nz (assignment extensions, tutorial queries)
Administrator: Sherie Crosby: hlthpsyc122admin@auckland.ac.nz (admin queries)

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard 15 point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.
This course requires a regular commitment of time each week to achieve a passing grade. You can expect:
•    Read the relevant textbook chapters or online readings before the lectures (2 hours)
•    Attend and/or view two lectures (2 hours)
•    Attend tutorial group (1 ½ hours)
•    Thinking about the content and quiz/test preparation and completion (approx. 2 hours)
•    Behaviour modification assignment requires weekly tasks over programme and write up period (approx. 3 hours)

Digital Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Lecture slides are posted on Canvas in advance,  lectures are recorded and available to students via Canvas.
Tutorial notes and worksheets are posted on Canvas in advance and students complete these online during class. Tutorials are not recorded and slides are not made available. This is to encourage attendance and active participation in the applied learning part of the course.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against online source material using computerised detection mechanisms.

All plagiarism (intentional or naive) is detected, even if wording changes are attempted, and official academic misconduct procedures will be followed.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website at http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

Student feedback via SETs and the class reps meetings has been valuable in the ongoing enhancement of HLTHPSYC 122. The feedback indicates that students consistently find the course intellectually stimulating and well organised. In particular, the tutorials are often highlighted as being very helpful for students’ learning.
One concern, often provided by students, is the scope of the content and readings. In response to this we introduced 11 short, open-book online quizzes throughout the semester (worth 10% of the final grade). This is to help students to better manage the amount of information they need to know and provide helpful feedback on learning progress. An issue identified with the coursework was the need to get started on the behaviour modification assignment early and to successfully identify a suitable target behaviour. In 2020 we introduced a the project outline as an assessment task to address this and provide formative feedback for the students.
We have also reduced the contribution of the exam from 60 to 40% of the final mark and reduced the final exam time from 3 to 2 hours.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter (https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html).

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course you may be asked to submit your coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. The final decision on the completion mode for a test or examination, and remote invigilation arrangements where applicable, will be advised to students at least 10 days prior to the scheduled date of the assessment, or in the case of an examination when the examination timetable is published.

Published on 18/06/2020 08:18 a.m.