Course Information PSYC 8002: Health Psychology Class Instructor Rawl 339 Christyn Dolbier, Ph.D. W 12-3 Associate Professor

Office Hours Contact Info SpringSpring 20132013 Rawl Annex 141 Phone: 252-328-2119 T 1-5, W 3-4 Email: [email protected]

Course Description: The course provides a comprehensive introduction to the field of health psychology, including the promotion and maintenance of physical health, the prevention and treatment of physical illness and causal and diagnostic correlates of health and illness for children and adults.

Required Readings:  Straub, R.O. (2012). Health Psychology: A Biopsychosocial Approach (3rd edition). New York: Worth Publishers.  There are a number of required journal article readings for this course. Access to or a copy of each reading will be made available on Blackboard in advance of its assigned due date.

Companion website:  Our textbook has several useful resources at its free companion website, such as critical thinking exercise, health application exercises, quizzes, flashcards, learning objectives and chapter outlines.  Website: http://bcs.worthpublishers.com/straub3e/#t_660498____

Course Objectives: The successful completion of this course will enable you to accomplish the following: 1. Develop an understanding and appreciation of the complex interplay between one's physical well- being and a variety of biological, psychological, and social factors. 2. Learn the nature of the stress response and its impact in the etiology and course of many health problems, as well as how behavioral and cognitive methods can help individuals cope with stress. 3. Develop an understanding of the factors influencing health habits and lifestyle, as well as methods to enhance health behavior and prevent illness. 4. Learn about the management of chronic and life-threatening health problems, as well as how psychological methods and principles can be applied to help individuals cope with such conditions.

Grading: Your final grade will be based on your studentship, midterm and final exams, facilitation of a discussion, and mini-lecture.

Component Percent Points Total points Grade Studentship 20% 80 376-400 A = 94-100% Midterm exam 25% 100 360-375 A- = 90-93% Final exam 25% 100 348-359 B+ = 87-89% Discussion facilitation 10% 40 332-347 B = 83-86% Mini-lecture 20% 80 320-331 B- = 80-82% 308-319 C+ = 77-79% 292-307 C = 73-76% 280-291 C- = 70-72% 268-279 D+ = 67-69% 252-267 D = 63-66% 240-251 D- = 60-62% 0-239 F = 0-59%

1 Studentship: You will be rewarded for your studentship, which includes class attendance and active participation, as well as preparing discussion questions prior to each class.  Attendance and participation: For this course to be successful, it is important for everyone to attend class and contribute to the discussion. You are expected to complete all required readings prior to class, to attend class, and to be prepared to discuss the readings and actively participate in class activities and discussions. I will give one day as a freebie for you to miss class should something unexpected arise (however, you will still be responsible for any readings and assignments due that day).  Discussion questions: In preparing for class, you are asked to upload a Word document containing at least one discussion question per assigned reading to the Blackboard group labeled with the name of the person(s) presenting and/or facilitating the discussion about the assigned reading (if more than one person is presenting/facilitating, upload to both groups). Discussion questions are due by noon on the Monday prior to those readings being covered in class to ensure that the person(s) presenting/facilitating has time to compile them and plan the discussion. . Discussion questions might pertain to: critical evaluation of the theories, hypotheses, and methods utilized in the study discussed in the reading; a theme or perspective that weaves through the reading for that day or across readings; a gap in the literature; new concepts or ideas the reading sparked; a disagreement with some aspect of the reading; contrasting perspectives from the reading for that day and other readings; an issue that you would like help in thinking about; relating the current reading to some other material from a course you have taken; practical or clinical applications of the ideas discussed in the reading; implications for the field of health psychology; implications for policy or health care formulation; or an idea for theory, research, or action that the reading has sparked. Your questions should not pertain to emotional reactions to the readings or personal stories.

Exams: There will be a midterm exam in class on March 6 covering material from the first half of the class, and a final exam during final exam week on May 8 during our regular class time that covers material from the second half of the class. Each exam will consist of short-answer, fill-in-the-blank, true/false, and/or multiple choice questions. The questions on the final exam will be based on questions you and your classmates create based on the health behaviors and chronic health conditions each of you are assigned to present/discuss in class. Exam reviews will be held in class during the class prior to the each exam.

Discussion facilitation: During one of the two weeks following spring break, you will serve as the discussion facilitator for the application of a health behavior theory to a specific health behavior. The health behavior theory (e.g., health belief model, theory of planned behavior, transtheoretical model) can be applied to starting a health promoting behaviors (e.g., exercise, healthy eating, cancer screening) or stopping a health compromising behaviors (e.g., smoking, excessive alcohol use, drug abuse, unprotected sex). The specific theory and health behavior will be assigned based on your rank ordering. A handout with details regarding the discussion format will be available on Blackboard.  Select readings: You will be responsible for choosing 2-3 research articles that would be appropriate for the class to read that apply one of the health behavior theories we discuss in class to a health behavior. You will upload those articles to the Blackboard group labeled with your name by February 22. I will make the final determination regarding which article(s) will be assigned for the class to read, and announce those reading assignments by March 6.  Integrate discussion questions: Your classmates will upload their discussion questions about the assigned readings for the discussion you will facilitate to your Blackboard group by noon on the Monday prior to your discussion facilitation so you may use their discussion questions to plan and guide the discussion.  Develop exam questions: Given you will be the class expert on your assigned health behavior, you will be responsible for preparing several questions that can be used on the final exam to test for understanding of the material you cover. The questions should cover the main points of the readings, not minor details. Develop at least two short-answer questions that can be answered in 2-3 sentences, as well as two fill-in-the-blank, true/false, or multiple-choice questions. Email the questions AND answers to me by Wednesday, April 17. I will determine which questions to use on the final exam, and may revise questions if necessary.

Mini-lecture: During one of the last weeks of class, you will present a mini-lecture on a chronic health condition (assigned based on your rank ordering). Possible chronic health conditions include: cardiovascular disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, HIV and AIDS, obesity and overweight, pain, arthritis, and respiratory

2 conditions such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A handout with details regarding the discussion format will be available on Blackboard.  Select readings: You will be responsible for choosing 2-3 research articles that would be appropriate for the class to read that relate to the chronic health condition you are covering. You will upload those articles to the Blackboard group labeled with your name by March 1. I will make the final determination regarding which article(s) will be assigned for the class to read, and announce those reading assignments by March 13.  Integrate discussion questions: Your classmates will upload their discussion questions about the assigned readings for the mini-lecture you will present to your Blackboard group by noon on the Monday prior to your mini-lecture so you may use their discussion questions to plan and guide your presentation.  Develop exam questions: Given you will be the class expert on your assigned chronic health condition, you will be responsible for preparing several questions that can be used on the final exam to test for understanding of the material you cover. The questions should cover the main points of the readings, not minor details. Develop at least two short-answer questions that can be answered in 2-3 sentences, as well as two fill-in-the-blank, true/false, or multiple-choice questions. Email the questions AND answers to me by Wednesday, April 17. I will determine which questions to use on the final exam, and may revise questions if necessary.

Class policies:  Discussion etiquette: Appropriate discussion contributions include providing concrete examples from the readings to support your point(s); integrating personal observations and knowledge in an accurate and insightful way; presenting new observations; and constructively responding to fellow students and the professor. The following guidelines are suggested for our discussion forum: 1) listen to others respectfully; 2) strive to utilize language that is thoughtful, respectful, and collegial when communicating with your fellow students and professors; 3) when you disagree with someone, critique his/her ideas in a respectful and constructive manner; 4) direct your comments to your fellow students rather than to the professor; 5) try to understand other people’s behavior and perspectives rather than simply criticizing them; and 6) avoid stereotypes and humor that are disparaging of others.  Blackboard: Class materials, announcements, and grades are posted online using Blackboard. To enter our course, go to the Blackboard gateway (http://blackboard.ecu.edu). Click Login and enter your ECU userid and password. If you have any trouble logging in, contact the ECU IT Help Desk at 252-328-9866. After you login, select Spring 2013 - PSYC 8002: Health Psychology and you are in.  Disability accommodations: ECU seeks to fully comply with the Americans with Disability Act. Students requesting accommodations based on a disability must be registered with the Department for Disability Support Services (DDSS; Slay 138; 252-737-1016; [email protected]; http://www.ecu.edu/cs- studentlife/dss/). In order to receive accommodations, register with DDSS, inform me in advance of when you need accommodations, and provide me with the DDSS documentation.  ECU or weather emergency: In case of an ECU or weather emergency, information is available via ECU’s emergency alert website: http://www.ecu.edu/alert; and emergency information hotline: 252-328-0062.

SCHEDULE*

Class date Topics Presenter Readings Assignments Jan. 16 . Introductions . Dolbier . Syllabus . Intellectual . Orientation autobiography due Wednesday, Jan. 16 in class Jan. 23 . No class – Prof. Dolbier out of . None . None . Student town information sheet . Assignment of health conditions due Wednesday, Jan. 23 (email) Jan. 30 . Field of health psychology . Dolbier . Chapters 1 and . Discussion 15 questions due Monday, Jan. 28 . Health behavior and theory rankings due Wednesday, Jan. 30 in class 3 Feb. 6 . Research in health psychology . Dolbier . Chapter 2 . Discussion . Assignment of health behaviors . DiMichele & questions due Casacchia (2006) Monday, Feb. 4 . Chambless & Hollon (1998) . Koshi & Short (2007) Feb. 13 . Theories of health behavior . Dolbier . Chapter 6 . Discussion . Carpenter (2010) questions due . Ajzen (2011) Monday, Feb. 11 . Prochaska et al (2008) Feb. 20 . Stress and health . Dolbier . Chapter 4 . Discussion . McEwen & questions due Gianaros (2011) Monday, Feb. 18 . Segerstrom . 2-3 articles for (2010) discussion facilitation due Fri., Feb. 22 Feb. 27 . Coping . Dolbier . Chapter 5 . Discussion . Resilience . Chapter 6 questions due . Midterm exam review (positive Monday, Feb. 25 psychology and . 2-3 articles for thriving) mini-lecture due . Folkman & Friday, Mar. 1 Moskowitz (2004) . Sapienza & Masten (2011) . Bower et al (2009) Mar. 6 . Midterm exam . None . None . None . Assignment of health behavior application articles Mar. 13 . No class – ECU spring break . None . None . None . Assignment of chronic health condition articles Mar. 20 . Theory of planned behavior and . Derian . Chapter 7 . Discussion healthy eating (nutrition, weight questions due determination, Monday, Mar. 18 treatment and . Discussion prevention of facilitation obesity), Conner (Derian, Loveless, et al (2002) Harris, Rhodes) . Small changes approach and . Loveless . Chapter 6 physical activity (exercise), Lutes & Steinbaugh (2010) . Integrated theories and condom . Harris . Chapter 11 use (AIDS epidemic, psychosocial interventions), Reid & Aiken (2011) . Theory of planned behavior and . Rhodes . Chapter 10 (early mammography diagnosis), Griva et al (2009) Mar. 27 . Transtheoretical model and stress . Anderson . Chapter 5 (stress . Discussion management management), questions due 4 Riley & Fava Monday, Mar. 25 (2003) . Discussion . Social cognitive theory and . Patrick . Chapter 8, facilitation smoking cessation Bricker et al (Anderson, (2010) Patrick, Exum, . Motivational interviewing and . Exum . Morgenstern et al Manley) alcohol abuse (2012) . Health belief model and drug use . Manley . Bonar & Rosenberg (2011) . LGBT health disparities . Harris

Apr. 3 . Obesity and overweight . Anderson . Chapters 3 . Discussion . Cardiovascular disease . Derian (endocrine, questions due . Diabetes . Loveless cardiovascular, Monday, Apr. 1 and digestive . Mini-lecture systems), 7, and (Anderson, 9 Derian, Loveless) . Articles TBA Apr. 10 . Cancer . Rhodes . Chapters 3 . Discussion . HIV and AIDS . Harris (immune questions due . Stroke . Patrick system), 10 and Monday, Apr. 8 11 . Mini-lecture . Articles TBA (Rhodes, Harris, Patrick) Apr. 17 . No class – Prof. Dolbier out of . None . None . Final exam town questions due Wednesday, April 17 Apr. 24 . Pain . Exum . Chapters 3 . Discussion . Traumatic brain injury . Manley (nervous system) questions due . Final exam review and 13 Monday, Apr. 22 . Articles TBA . Mini-lecture (Exum, Manley) May 1 . No class – ECU reading day . None . None . None May 8 . Final exam . None . None . None

*Schedule is subject to change based on the pace of the course – any changes will be announced in class and posted on Blackboard.

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