Psychology of Health
Overview
This unit provides students with an introduction to the field of health psychology. At the conclusion of this unit, students will be conversant with the interrelationships between behavioural, psychological, social, and biological components of major health issues (e.g., smoking, alcohol, stress) and disease (e.g., cancer), including health inequalities. Students will be introduced to the role health professionals play in optimising wellness, the epidemiology of disease in the community, and the impact of health on quality of life.
Requisites
Rules
Pre-requisite
25 Credit Points of PSY level 2 units
Equivalent
PSS340(C) - Psychology of Health
02-November-2025
Learning outcomes
Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:
- Critically appraise key theories relevant to health psychology practice
- Analyse personal (e.g., smoking, alcohol) and environmental factors (e.g., socioeconomic status) that impact health and wellness and apply this knowledge to explain how behaviour change is achieved
- Locate, organise and synthesise information from credible sources concerning health status (e.g., mortality rates, quality of life)
- Critically evaluate the research literature in the area of health psychology
Teaching methods
Hawthorn
| Type | Hours per week | Number of weeks | Total (number of hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Live Online Class | 1.00 | 13 week | 13 |
| Online Directed Online Learning and Independent Learning | 11.42 | 12 weeks | 137 |
| TOTAL | 150 |
Hawthorn
| Type | Hours per week | Number of weeks | Total (number of hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Live Online Class | 1.00 | 12 weeks | 12 |
| On-campus Class | 2.00 | 12 weeks | 24 |
| Specified Activities Various | 5.00 | 12 weeks | 60 |
| Unspecified Activities Various | 4.50 | 12 weeks | 54 |
| TOTAL | 150 |
Assessment
| Type | Task | Weighting | ULO's |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online Assignment | Individual | 20% | 1,2,4 |
| Reading Log | Individual | 40% | 1,2,3,4 |
| Written Assignment | Individual | 40% | 1,2,3,4 |
Content
- Health-related behaviours
- Health inequalities
- Stress, illness, and disease
- Population approaches to public health
- Predicting and improving health outcomes
- Graduate Attribute – Communication Skills: Communicating using different media
- Graduate Attribute – Digital Literacies: Information literacy
- Graduate Attribute – Digital Literacies: Technical literacy
Study resources
Reading materials
A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.