PSYCHOLOGY OF EXERCISE & HEALTH - 2025/6

Module Overview

Expanding on the introductory ideas and content covered in BMS2064 Fundamentals of Sports Psychology, this final-year module dives into the depths of human behaviour and its intricacies at the intersection of sport, exercise, and health. As social beings, we are innately complex creatures with a myriad of thoughts, feelings, emotions, and behaviours. From psychological aspects of optimal athletic performance to the promotion of exercise as a vehicle to enhance health and improve well-being, the goal of this module is to systematically equip students with the necessary breadth of theoretical information and foundational applied skills required of a neophyte scientist-practitioner student in the fields of sport, exercise, and/or health.

Module provider

School of Biosciences

Module Leader

DE CRUZ Nicholas (Biosciences)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 6

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

BMS2065 Fundamentals of Sports Psychology

Module content

Indicative content includes:

• “Exercise is Medicine”


• Theoretical Models of Sport, Exercise, and Health Behaviour


• Current Issues, Attitudes, and Changing Behaviour


• Case Formulation Frameworks


• Exploring Interventions for Behaviour Change


• Exercise and Diverse Populations


• Health Promotion and Knowledge Translation


• Professional Pathways and Consulting Philosophy


• Professional Practice and Ethics


• Intake Interviewing, Role-playing, and Thematic Analysis

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate that they have critically engaged with academic literature and successfully met the learning outcomes of the module. The assessment strategy will evaluate your ability to conduct a critical review of the literature and allow you to demonstrate your ability to present clear, coherent, and academically rigorous arguments to a scientist-practitioner audience. With regard to studying/revision, please note that your focus should be on developing a good understanding of theories and concepts to support their application.

 

Summative assessment for this module consists of:

• Case Formulation Report (coursework; 50% of overall grade; 2,000 words): Case formulation is a description of a client’s “complaints and symptoms” (or rather, goals and barriers/challenges), as well as an organising mechanism to help the psychologist understand how the client’s situation came to be and what can be done to support the client. This assessment consists of four components that illustrate the first consultation and hypothetical follow-up with a client, namely (1) contextualisation, (2) intake interview, (3) case formulation, and (4) proposed intervention. Each seminar from weeks 2 to 7 will systematically cover specific practical components of this assessment and provide opportunities for discussion and feedback (e.g., designing an interview guide and conducting an intake interview), leading up to the submission of this assessment.


• Online (Open Book) Exam (examination; 50% of overall grade; 2,000 words): Consistent with the case-study approach that will be embedded into lectures and seminars, you will be required to complete 3 essay questions that will be informed by all the indicative content outlined in this module (e.g., includes lecture/seminar notes and recommended readings) and current issues surrounding sport, exercise, and health psychology (e.g., peer-reviewed journal and news articles).

 

Formative assessment for this module consists of:

• Miro Board Activities: As a visual collaborative platform, Miro will be used during seminars following the delivery of slide content and/or practical activities. As a reflective tool and a means to visually map the step-by-step processes that can be used to support ideation, creative thinking, and topic conceptualisation (e.g., drafting possible interview questions that can be used in the case formulation report), the effectiveness of Miro will be highly dependent on your motivation to actively engage with the platform and share your honest thoughts, comments, perspectives, and understanding of a given topic. Anonymous posting will be available and, following the completion of Miro Board Activities, your lecturer will address every post either during or after each seminar as a means of formative feedback (e.g., discussion and suggestions on the nature and suitability of proposed interview questions). Miro Boards for each seminar will also be saved as PDF documents and shared via SurreyLearn.


• Discussion Boards: To foster a culture of shared knowledge and understanding, two discussion sections will be set-up to address specific areas, namely (1) General Discussions, Queries, and Clarifications and (2) Assessment Queries and Clarifications. You are recommended to direct your questions to the relevant discussion sections for everyone’s benefit and learning, rather than email your lecturer. Anonymous posting will be enabled and all questions will be addressed in a timely manner.

 

Feedback on summative and formative assessments will be shared via SurreyLearn. This information (can include individual and/or general feedback) will indicate what was good about your work and what may need attention and can be improved upon. Feedback can help inform subsequent module specific discussions/assessments and include transferable skills for other modules as well (e.g., see BMS3084 module aims and learning outcomes). Formative feedback will be provided throughout the module during in-class lecture/seminar discussions/activities and via online platforms (e.g., Miro notes and discussion boards).

Module aims

• Examine the role of sport and exercise and health psychology in supporting athletic development and/or achieving desirable health outcomes.
• Provide students with an understanding of the key psychological antecedents and consequences of sport and exercise behaviours.
• Explore the psychological factors that underpin sport and exercise participation, and the benefits and risks associated with sport and exercise.
• Explain the methodological issues and applied challenges of sport, exercise, and health researchers and practitioners.
• Acquire the skills to review and reflect on relevant empirical evidence in relation to the provision of sport, exercise, and/or health interventions for well-being and positive psychological functioning.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The teaching and learning strategies are designed to:

• Provide opportunities for the critical discussion of theories, concepts, and their application to specific case studies, be it from research or practice settings (e.g., why should this theory be used over another?).


• Challenge you to discern what constitutes good research and practice through reflection and introspection (e.g., what can I do differently to better support the needs of my participant/client?).


• Empower you to draw and build on personal experiences, thoughts, feelings, and emotions by situating you, the neophyte researcher/practitioner, within the thick of debate, discussion, and collaboration with peers and your lecturer (e.g., how do my experiences influence my interpretation and application of research findings?).


• Build a sense of community and shared learning through the use of multiple learning tools such as Panopto (a video recording platform), Miro (a visual collaboration platform), and SurreyLearn Discussion Boards (e.g., which platform[s] can we use to better support our understanding of module content?).

 

To achieve our module aims and learning outcomes, teaching and learning methods will include (1) lectures, where selected key theories and concepts will be introduced, examined, elaborated on and discussed; (2) seminars, where you can drive your learning experiences by actively participating in interactive exercises, group discussions, and Miro Board activities; (3) discussion boards, where your queries and concerns on theories, cases, readings, and assessments can be anonymously shared and communally addressed by your lecturer.

 

As university students, you are encouraged to be an active participant in lectures and seminars, therefore enabling your growth as an informed, confident, and engaged independent learner. While you will be provided with specific recommended readings at the end of every lecture/seminar, you are expected to read beyond the prescribed module content, explore relevant literature, and troubleshoot some hurdles along your university journey. In this way, you will take ownership of your learning and, in so doing, develop your own perspectives and opinions on a given topic, furthering your understanding, independence, and confidence.

 

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: BMS3084

Other information

Employability: Drawing inspiration from real-world processes of scientist-practitioners in sport, exercise, and health settings, the assessments have been designed to equip students with the skills to systematically discern clients’ needs, review relevant literature, and select theory-driven, evidence-based interventions, to address clients’ goals. By practicing these skills and gaining feedback in a supportive educational environment, students will get a feel of professional practice in the domain of sport, exercise, and health. Furthermore, professional pathways into related occupations will be discussed to ensure students are abreast of the requirements to enter the industry of their choice.

 

Digital Capabilities: Through the use of multiple learning tools such as Panopto (a video recording platform), Miro (a visual collaboration platform), and SurreyLearn Discussion Boards, students will be able to gather and impart knowledge via different learning preferences. This, in turn, trains students to confidently engage and communicate knowledge effectively to a variety of stakeholders with a range of needs and preferences.

 

Global and Cultural Capabilities: With the module’s dedicated focus on cultural and ethical considerations, current issues, attitudes, health promotion, and behavioural practices in diverse populations, students will gain an appreciation for the cultural nuances and sensibilities that will enable them to individualise their approaches in the variety of sport, exercise, and health contexts that they will operate in.

 

Resourcefulness and Resilience: There will be an inherent focus on applying theories of behaviour change to influence athletic performance and/or exercise participation for desirable health outcomes. The breadth of theoretical information and foundational applied skills across the fields of sport, exercise, and/or health will provide opportunities for autonomous decision-making, problem-solving, and self-directed learning as students navigate challenging content, and progressively gain competence and self-mastery. Examples of these opportunities can be found in the (1) coursework where students are required to systematically discern the unique needs of a client whilst avoiding a “one-size-fits-all” approach, and the (2) examination where students are required to present a good understanding of theories and concepts, and their application to cases inspired by current issues surrounding sport, exercise, and health psychology.

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2025/6 academic year.