PSYC434-25S2 (C) Semester Two 2025

Health Psychology: Theories & Interventions

15 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 14 July 2025
End Date: Sunday, 9 November 2025
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Sunday, 27 July 2025
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Sunday, 28 September 2025

Description

Contemporary research and theory on how people achieve and maintain good health, why they become ill, and how they respond to illness. This is an advanced course in health psychology.

This is a limited entry course in 2025, and applicants will be waitlisted.

Over the past 30 years, health psychology has become one of the most rapidly growing fields in psychology. Following a biopsychosocial approach to health and illness, health psychology strives to understand how biological, psychological and social factors influence health and illness. This course presents an advanced overview of research in health psychology with a specific focus on the self-regulation of health behaviour (including self-management of chronic disease). Using theories on self-regulation and self-control, and stress and coping we will examine why so many people experience difficulties in acting upon their good intentions and how we might be able to assist people in attaining their health goals (e.g., eating healthy, quitting smoking, adhering to medical treatment). We will also examine challenges related to coping with chronic illness and examine predictors of adjustment (with a particular focus on close relationships and health).

Learning Outcomes

  • To provide students with an advanced overview of health psychology. This course will provide an in-depth study of contemporary issues in health psychology, focussing on theories, interventions, new developments and future challenges.

    At the end of the course students should
  • have gained knowledge about contemporary issues in health psychology;
  • be able to critically evaluate health psychology research;
  • be able to apply health psychology research to real life questions;
  • be able to understand issues surrounding ethically, theoretically and methodologically sound health psychology research;
  • be able to present theories and research in both written and oral formats.

Prerequisites

RP: PSYC374 Health Psychology & Behaviour Change

Restrictions

PSYC437

Recommended Preparation

PSYC374 Health Psychology & Behaviour Change

Timetable 2025

Students must attend one activity from each section.

Lecture A
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Wednesday 12:00 - 14:00 Jack Erskine 244
14 Jul - 3 Aug
8 Sep - 19 Oct
Lecture B
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Monday 13:00 - 15:00 Rehua 429
21 Jul - 3 Aug

Examinations, Quizzes and Formal Tests

Test A
Activity Day Time Location Weeks
01 Wednesday 12:00 - 14:00 Jack Erskine 244
18 Aug - 24 Aug

Course Coordinator

Roeline Kuijer

Assessment

Assessment Due Date Percentage  Description
Mid-semester test 25% Mid-semester test
Final exam 35% Final exam
Presentation 10% Presentation
Literature review 25% Literature review
Class participation & attendance 5% Class participation & attendance

Textbooks / Resources

There are no required textbooks for this course. Assigned readings for lectures will be provided online via LEARN.

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $1,213.00

* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.

Limited Entry Course

Maximum enrolment is 25

For further information see School of Psychology, Speech and Hearing .

All PSYC434 Occurrences

  • PSYC434-25S2 (C) Semester Two 2025