Health Psychology

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

Health Psychology examines the biopsychosocial factors that interact with and affect health promotion, stress management, pain coping, and illness prevention and recovery. The course will offer a broad overview of the field, including topics such as: habits and behavioral change, social support and emotion regulation, mental health and subjective well-being, exercise and eating, doctor-patient communication and relationship, chronic stress, major adversity, and psychoneuroimmunology. Students will explore these factors from a variety of theoretical perspectives, including behavioral, physiological, socioemotional, and cognitive. The class is designed to develop: (1) an appreciation of the complex interplay between human behavior, cognition, and emotion as critical determinants of physiological and health outcomes; (2) a practical understanding of cognitive-behavioral and socioemotional techniques applicable to medical treatment and the implications for behavioral medicine and preventative care; (3) a recognition of the importance of cura personalis—an understanding of patients as complex biopsychological systems embedded in a social environment and in a broader societal context.