Abstract
Health psychology is a student favorite given its easy applicability to life. In this chapter, we overview the origins and growth of the health psychology course and review current information regarding how the course is taught. We review three major studies of content outlines for the course highlighting course learning outcomes, major assessments used, and the main topics covered and thought to be important by instructors. Together with providing a comprehensive overview of current teaching resources in the field, we map the evolution of one textbook over nine editions to demonstrate changes in the health psychology course over time. We then discuss how the course is taught around the world with a focus on the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, highlighting areas where more information is needed. Finally, we address major challenges to teaching the course and future directions of the field.
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Notes
- 1.
Survey respondents noted that health psychology textbooks provided inadequate coverage of topics related to diversity and to health disparities across demographic groups. A need for integrating digital media and class activities as teaching tools was apparent.
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Stone, A.M., Gurung, R.A.R. (2023). Teaching Health Psychology Here, There, and Everywhere. In: Zumbach, J., Bernstein, D.A., Narciss, S., Marsico, G. (eds) International Handbook of Psychology Learning and Teaching. Springer International Handbooks of Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28745-0_17
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