HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY - 2026/7

Module Overview

This module introduces students to the key theories and methods of health psychology and focuses on a number of research areas including health behaviour and behaviour change, help seeking and access to health care and chronic conditions and their management. It draws upon all aspects of psychology covered so far on the degree programme including theories from social, biological, cognitive and developmental psychology and illustrates how they can be applied to aspects of health.  It also utilises qualitative and quantitative research methods covered in all other modules as the basis for understanding health issues, changing health behaviours and managing health conditions.  

Module provider

Psychology

Module Leader

TUNKS Alice (Psychology)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 6

Module cap (Maximum number of students): 130

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None.

Module content

The course will be based around such topics as: theories and models in health psychology, the role of health beliefs in understanding health behaviour, eating behaviour, changing health behaviour, help seeking, stress and the role of psychology in understanding and managing chronic conditions such as cancer. 
 
Indicative content for the module is as follows: 
 
Eating behaviour 
 
Behaviour change 
 
Help seeking 
 
Stress and coping 
 
Women's health 
 
Pain 

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

Reasonable adjustments to assignments are made on a case-by-case basis - please contact the module convenor to discuss as soon as possible and before you start the assignment.

Assessment Strategy

The summative assessment for this module consists of designing a leaflet which draws upon theory(s) behaviour, behaviour change and / or a health condition to change a behaviour and / or promote self management of a chronic condition. Alongside the leaflet, students will be assessed on the process of developing the final submission. 
 
The assessment will address all learning outcomes.

Formative assessment

Students will have the opportunity to discuss their leaflet ideas and receive feedback to integrate into their design

Module aims

• To develop a critical understanding of the theories, methods, and applications underpinning health psychology.
• To demonstrate how a scientific understanding of behaviour can be applied to understanding and changing health behaviours.
• To illustrate how psychological factors influence the experience of health and illness and can impact upon health outcomes.
• To illustrate how psychological theory and evidence can be used to underpin an intervention for a lay audience.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching methods include 10 x 2 hour lectures which involve lectures and class discussions covering theories and research in health psychology relating to topics such as eating behaviour, behaviour change, help seeking and cancer.

A formative feedback session will provide an opportunity to discuss assignment ideas and receive feedback.

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: PSY3073

Other information

In line with Surrey's Curriculum Framework, we are committed to developing graduates with strengths in Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability and Resourcefulness and Resilience. This module contributes to the five pillars in the following ways: 

Employability (E) 

This module supports the students' employability skills as it will teach the student how to take psychological theory and research and use this to develop an intervention to either change behaviour or promote health outcomes for a lay audience.  Such skills would be useful across a multitude of careers which may involve changing behaviour in the context of health, sustainability, hospitality, politics or retail. 

Digital capabilities (D) 

Students will need to engage with several elements of digital skill during the course; they will utilise the university of Surrey Virtual Learning Environment (SurreyLearn) to access the course materials and key content. They will also have to become competent in a design package to produce the user friendly leaflet.  Students will also need to use on-line search engines to research academic journal articles for their assignment. Students can use digital platforms such as Word, PowerPoint or Canva to present for formative feedback and to create leaflets. Students will be encouraged to utilise AI for visual components of the leaflet, however use of AI to generate content for the written parts of the assignment will not be permitted. In addition, all students have access to AI tools through the My AI Surrey platform to enhance their learning and develop skills in using AI tools effectively and ethically. 

Global and cultural capabilities (G) 

One of the key global challenges is an ageing population and how to manage the increase in comorbidities such as obesity and cancer that come with living longer.  This module will teach students about the role of psychology in longevity and chronic conditions and how people can be encouraged to live longer and healthier lives.  Further, it will teach students how to change behaviour which is key to promoting sustainable behaviours and address climate change.  

Sustainability (S) 

Sustainability involves behaviour change is people are to practice behaviours such as recycling, using less energy, using renewable energy and buying less stuff.  This module will teach students about the theories and evidence behind behaviour changes and show them how to take these theories and evidence and use them to develop a behaviour change intervention.  

Resourcefulness and resilience (R) 

This module will provide several opportunities to develop resourcefulness and resilience and the assessment will play an important role in this pillar. Whilst the lectures will teach students about the theories and evidence in health psychology they will be expected to identify their own area for the assessment which will involve independent working in terms of searching for theories and evidence specific to this area, searching for effective persuasive strategies to incorporate into the intervention and searching for design ideas that could maximise the effectiveness of the intervention.   

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 2026/7 academic year.