PSY 3206: Health Psychology
Fall 2014 M W 1:00 – 2:15 PM
Fraser Hall 102
Instructor
Heather Scherschel
scher331@umn.edu
Wednesdays
2:30-3:30pm
Elliott N329 or
Elliott N306
TA
Mary Panos
panos006@umn.edu
Wednesdays
8:30-9:30am
Elliott N331
TA
Lisa Auster-Gussman
auste010@umn.edu
Mondays
Elliott N331
11:00am-12pm
TA
Richard LeDonne
ledon004@umn.edu Wednesdays
Elliott N317
12:00-1:00pm
Course Overview: This course is designed to give you a broad overview of the field of health psychology.
Health psychology is a young and exciting field of study that examines the bi-directional relationship between
psychology and health. We will try to answer such questions as: Are certain personality types more likely to
get sick, or to get certain illnesses? What does stress do to your health? What psychological and social factors
cause people to behave in unhealthy ways? What helps people adjust to illness? Does having a lot of friends
affect your health? What can psychologists do to help cure illness? Who is healthier, men or women? Are
there ethnic variations in health? How can we help people who are in pain without getting them addicted to
pain-killers? Does it matter how your doctor talks to you? Does being bereaved make you ill? Does dieting
work? Can a sugar pill cure back pain?
Readings: Course readings are online on moodle (https://moodle2.umn.edu/). They are free. There are no
books.
iClicker2: You do have to buy an iclicker2 though, and it can be purchased at the campus bookstore. The
iclicker2 is also available on the iclicker website (http://www.iclicker.com/purchase/). Please be sure to buy
the iclicker2, and not the older iclicker. There will be no other expenses for this course. Your iclicker2 can be
used for all classes that require an iclicker, even if they require an iclicker1.
iClicker2 Registration: You must register your iclicker2 online. You will do that through our class moodle
page.
Bring your iClicker to class every day. Starting Monday September 8th, every day of class (except review
days and days with exams/final) there will be an opportunity to get one point just for being present. The
number of questions per day are listed below on the class schedule.
Grading: Grades will be based on two exams, a cumulative final exam, and in-class quizzes/attendance
questions using the iClicker2. The exams and final will be based only on lecture material. The quizzes will be
based only on the readings. The dates for the exams, quizzes, and final exam are on the class schedule in this
syllabus.
Lectures: You are responsible for learning the lecture material covered every day of class, whether you are
present or not. If you miss a lecture for any reason, including illness, ask one of your classmates for a copy
of their notes. Do not ask the instructor or TAs to repeat or summarize the lecture or for their notes.
2
Your grade will be calculated out of 400 points, although 418 are possible.
Percent of
Total
Points
Quizzes/
Attendance
25%
100
12
Exam 1
25%
100
2
Exam 2
25%
Final
(Cumulative)
25%
Total
100%
100
100
400
To get this
grade:
You need this
many points:
A (94%)
376
A- (90%)
360
B+ (87%)
348
B
(84%)
336
B- (80%)
320
C+ (77%)
308
C (74%)
296
C- (70%)
280
D (60%)
240
F (<60%)
<240
Free Points
2
2
18
Quizzes/Attendance: You will receive 1 point for attendance and 1 point for every question answered
correctly. I know that life happens and that you cannot be expected to be in class every day. Therefore, I am
giving you 12 free points toward your quizzes/attendance score. That lets you miss about three days of class
and the quizzes on those days without dipping into the 100 points for quizzes/attendance that factor into your
score.
Because of these free points, we will never allow “makeup” quizzes or makeup attendance points. Do not ask
for these. Do not tell us the life circumstance that caused you – through no fault of your own – to miss class
one day (or even four days). It doesn’t matter. You have those free points for just that reason. And if you miss
more than four days? Well, you will have to start dipping into the 100 points.
Tests: There are always test questions that you misinterpret in a quirky way. If these were the same for
everyone we could (and do) dump them from the tests. But they are not the same for everyone. Therefore, we
are giving you two free points for each exam and the final. These points will cover one such question on each
test.
Because of this, we will never be talked out of any answer that we deem correct on any test. Do not try to do
this. Do not tell us the crazy way you turned the question all around and got it wrong even though you know
that concept perfectly. It doesn’t matter. You have those free points for just that reason. And if you do that
more than once per test? Well, you will start dipping into the 100 points for that test.
It is your responsibility to make sure you are in class for the exams and quizzes. If you do not show up for the
exams or quizzes you will receive zeros on them. There are no exceptions. Do not ask the instructor for
special grade cutoffs, adjustments, or extra credit opportunities that are not listed in this syllabus. There will
be none.
Academic Honesty
You are required to behave according to the University Student Conduct Code, which you should read online
at: www1.umn.edu/regents/policies/academic/Student_Conduct_Code.html
Your entire grade in this course comes from in-class tests/quizzes/attendance clicks. Not only must you not
cheat on these tests, it is important for you to also make sure that you do not appear to be cheating or making
it possible for others to cheat off of you. This means that you should generally keep your head down and
cover your answer sheet with your arms while taking tests. While answering clicker questions, you should be
absolutely silent, and you should cover the buttons and screen as you click so that your neighbors cannot see
them. If you are ever caught with two clickers in class, both you and the owner of the second clicker will be
given a zero for the entire clicker component of the course (all 112 possible points will be changed to zero).
Readings
1.
Kolata, G. (2008). Searching for clarity: A primer
on medical studies. The New York Times, Sept 30.
2.
Hafner, K. (2010). Think the answer's clear?
Look again. New york times, Aug 30.
3.
Patel, C. (2012). Job Stress Linked to Increased
Heart-Attack Risk. abc News.com, Sept 13.
4.
Kolata, G. (2005). Is there a link between stress
and cancer? New York Times, Nov 29.
5.
Albin, S. (2012). 7 ways dogs can help your
health. abcNews.com, Jun 19
6.
Kemeny, M., et al. (1995). Immune system
changes after the death of a partner in HIVPositive Gay Men. Psychosomatic Medicine, 57,
547-554.
7.
O’Rourke, M. (2010). Good grief: Is there a
better way to be bereaved? The New Yorker, Feb
1.
8.
Couzin, J. (2009). Friendship as a health factor.
Science, 323, Jan 23
9.
Kolata, G. (2011). Catching obesity from friends
may not be so easy. The New York Times, Aug
8.
10. Carey, B. (2011). On road to recovery, past
adversity provides a map. The New York Times,
Jan 3.
11. Parker-Pope, T. (2010). Is marriage good for
your health? The New York Times Magazine,
Apr 14.
12. Wallace, A. (2009). An epidemic of fear: How
panicked parents skipping shots endangers us all.
Wired, Oct 19
13. Dubner, S., & Levitt, S. (2006). Selling Soap.
New York Times Magazine, Sep 24.
14. Murnaghan, D. A. et al., (2010). Predictors of
physical activity, healthy eating and being
smoke-free in teens: A theory of planned
behavior approach. Psychology & Health, 28(8),
925-941.
15. Webb, T. L. & Sheeran, P. (2006). Does
changing behavioral intentions engender
behavior change? A meta-analysis of the
experimental evidence. Psychological Bulletin,
132(2), 249-268.
16. Herzog, T. A. (2008). Analyzing the
transtheoretical model using the framework of
Weinstein, Rothman, and Sutton (1998): The
example of smoking cessation. Health
Psychology, 27(5), 548-556.
17. Harmon, A. (2007). Facing life with a lethal
gene. New York Times, Mar 18.
18. Burton, R. (2008). Why placebo is not a dirty
word. Salon.com, Aug 1.
19. Silberman, S. (2009). Placebos are getting more
effective. Drugmakers are desperate to know
why. Wired.com. Aug 24.
20. Thernstrom, M. (2001). Pain, the disease. The
New York Times, Dec 16.
4
21. Brody, J. (2014). The Perils of Toughing it Out.
The New York Times. Mar 3.
22. Legato, M. (2006). The Weaker Sex. New York
Times, June 17.
23. O’Brien, K. M. (2012). Healthy, wealthy, wise?
Psychosocial factors influencing the
socioeconomic status-health gradient. Journal of
Health Psychology, 17(8). 1142-1151.
24. Friedman, R. (2007). Yet another worry for those
who believe the glass is half-empty. New York
Times, Jan 9
25. English, T. & Carstensen, L. L. (2014). Will
interventions targeting conscientiousness
improve aging outcomes? Developmental
Psychology, 50(5), 1478-1481.
26. Wansink, B. (2010). From mindless eating to
mindlessly eating better. Physiology & Behavior,
100, 454-463.
27. Kolbert, E. (2009). Why are we so fat? The New
Yorker, July 20.
28. Salmon, et al. (2014). Health on impulse. When
low self-control promotes healthy food choices.
Health Psychology, 33(2), 103-109.
29. Tomiyama, J., Mann, T., & Alhstrom, B. (2012).
Is dieting worth the trouble? Huffington Post.
Dec 7.
30. Werle, C.O.C., Wansink, B., & Payne, C. R.
(2011). Just thinking about exercise makes me
serve more food. Physical activity and calorie
compensation. Appetite, 56, 332-335.
31. Mast, M. S. (2007). On the importance of
nonverbal communication in the physicianpatient interaction. Patient Education and
Counseling, 67, 315-318.
32. Groopman, J. (2007). What's the trouble? How
doctors think. The New Yorker, Jan 29.
33. Weiner, S. (2008). The how of happiness. Good
Housekeeping. Dec 3.
Class Schedule
Date
Topic
Wed Sept 3
Mon Sept 8
Wed Sept 10
Mon Sept 15
Wed Sept 17
Mon Sept 22
Wed Sept 24
Mon Sept 29
Wed Oct 1
Mon Oct 6
Wed Oct 8
Mon Oct 13
Wed Oct 15
Mon Oct 20
Wed Oct 22
Mon Oct 27
Wed Oct 29
Mon Nov 3
Wed Nov 5
Mon Nov 10
Wed Nov 12
Mon Nov 17
Wed Nov 19
Mon Nov 24
Wed Nov 26
Mon Dec 1
Wed Dec 3
Mon Dec 8
Wed Dec 10
Sat Dec 13
Introduction/Methods
Biopsychosocial Model
Stress History
Stress and Health
Psychoneuroimmunology
Bereavement
Coping and Social Support
Close Relationships
Review for Exam 1 (and catch-up)
Exam 1
Health Communications
Health Behav Change 1: History
Health Behav Change 2: Models/Interventions
Adjustment to Illness
Placebos
Pain
Age, Gender, and Health
Culture and Health
Personality and Health
Review for Exam 2 (and catch-up)
Exam 2
Eating
Eating/Diet and Exercise
Diet and Exercise
No Class
Medical Systems (Film)
Doctor-Patient Communication
Happiness
Review for Final (and catch-up)
Cumulative Final Exam 10:30am-12:30pm
Readings to be
quizzed on that day (number
of questions on that day)
1, 2 (4)
3, 4, 5 (6)
6 (2)
7 (3)
8, 9 (4)
10, 11 (5)
12 (3)
13, 14 (6)
15, 16 (6)
17 (3)
18, 19 (4)
20, 21 (5)
22 (3)
23 (3)
24, 25 (4)
26, 27 (4)
28, 29 (5)
30 (2)
31, 32 (4)
33 (2)