PSYCHOLOGY 372:
HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY
Fall, 2006
Professor: Joan Ostrove
Olin-Rice 325
696-6464
Office hours: Wednesdays, 1 – 4 p.m., or by appointment
Class description and
overview:
Health psychology is a relatively
new and fast-growing field that is broadly concerned with two main issues: 1) the ways in which psychological factors
and experiences (such as stress, personality patterns, discrimination, etc.)
affect physical health; and 2) the psychological effects and meanings of being
ill. We will use a combination of
readings including original research articles, theoretical essays, and first person
accounts as a basis from which to explore the field of health psychology. As an advanced class, the course will
function as much as possible as a seminar, in which we will have the chance to
discuss the course material in depth and to grapple with many interesting
issues raised by this field: What
exactly is “health?” What are the connections between the mind and the body?
How does our membership in different social groups affect our health? Why do some people get sick and others stay
well? How do our behaviors affect our
health and why are they so hard to change (we’ll spend a lot of time on this
one as it is the focus of a semester-long project; more on this below)? What is it like to be a patient? A doctor? How do
societal ideas about illness and disability affect us? No doubt there are many more provocative
questions that I haven’t thought of, that each of you will raise and all of us
will discuss as we proceed through the course.
This course is also intended to look
at health and health psychology in context.
We will learn about how culture shapes our ideas of health, and how
systems of discrimination based on class, race, and gender affect health. You will have a chance to apply and enhance
what you’re learning in class through a variety of assignments/activities that
will be described below, including a small group project focused on health
behavior change that will run throughout the entire semester.
Requirements and
expectations:
·
Participation: It is one of your primary responsibility
to come to class prepared, having read and thought about the readings for the
day/week. Participation may mean a lot
of different things – sharing your ideas and thoughts; listening well to
others’ ideas; asking questions; connecting the course material to issues in
your life or the lives of other people you know, and/or to issues on campus and
in the world, etc.
·
Reaction paper: This is an opportunity
for you to think “on paper” (1-2 pages) about one or more of the readings for
the week (that is, for the week they are due, not about the readings from the
previous week). This is a chance for you
to engage with the material that you’re reading and let me know what you think
about it. It’s also intended to give you
a “head start” for sharing your ideas in class, so please feel free to raise
the issues that you’ve written about in the context of the class
discussion. Reaction papers/questions
will be graded on a “check-plus” / “check” / “check minus” basis, with “check-pluses”
reserved for particularly thoughtful work.
They are due in class on the days noted on the syllabus.
·
Discussion questions: Each of you will (twice over the course of
the semester) submit two thoughtful
and provocative questions to me that will help guide our class discussions for
the day. This is your chance not only to
focus on what you think is interesting about what we’ve read for class, but
also to raise questions and complications about the
course material. Please hand in your
typed discussion questions (either via e-mail or under my office door) absolutely no later than 5 p.m. on the
Monday before the class for which you prepared them.
·
Short essays: You will have the
opportunity to respond to essay questions twice during the course of the
semester, and will be expected to submit a 3-4 page response to each
question. Essay questions will be
distributed approximately two weeks before they are due.
·
Health behavior change
project: This semester-long, small group project is
described on a separate handout.
Assignment
|
Percentage
of final grade
|
|
Participation |
10% |
|
Reaction
papers |
10% |
|
Discussion
questions |
2.5%
each time |
|
Essays |
15%
each |
|
Health
Behavior Change poster |
5% |
|
Health
Behavior Change Project |
40% |
Course policies:
·
Academic integrity: I expect
each of you to follow the college’s guidelines regarding academic integrity,
outlined in the Student Handbook. Please
talk to me if you are not clear how these guidelines apply to the course. I will report any suspicion of academic
dishonesty to the Dean of Academic Programs.
Academic dishonesty will result in at least a failing grade on the
assignment, and a second instance of dishonesty will usually result in a
failing grade in the course.
·
Late work: You may not receive extensions
on work in the class, except in the most extraordinary circumstances (in which
you will need documentation from the Dean of Students Office or Health
Services). Work that is turned in late
for any other reason will have a third of a grade taken off for each day that
it is late (e.g., a B+ would become a B if you hand in work any time after the
exact time that it is due – the “day late” begins immediately after the time
the assignment is due). Reaction paper/discussion
questions that are handed in after Monday at 5 p.m. will be graded down (that
is, a “check” would become a “check-minus”)
·
Incompletes: I will only grant
incompletes under extraordinary circumstances that occur in the second part of
the semester. This will not include
being really busy at the end of the semester.
·
Written assignments: Please
type, double-spaced with 12-point font, all of your written assignments for
this course. Please do not use margins
that are larger than 1 inch – all around.
Don’t use smaller margins, or smaller font, either – length is not
necessarily strength!
·
Grades: Grading guidelines are
explained on the last page of the syllabus.
·
Accommodations for students with disabilities: I will provide any reasonable accommodation
for students with disabilities that will assist in making this course
accessible and will provide an optimal educational experience for everyone. I
will expect to receive documentation from the office for students with
disabilities about the kinds of accommodations that you require. Please speak to me at the beginning of the
semester so that we can make an effective plan.
Book (available at textbook store in Lampert):
Conner, M., & Norman, P. (2005). Predicting health behaviour (2nd edition).
Articles:
Most
articles are available as full-text, downloadable readings via Macalester’s library system. Articles in bold on your list of readings (pp. 5-6 of the syllabus) are
available through PsycARTICLES. PsycARTICLES
provides full-text versions of articles from journals published by the American
Psychological Association.
If
you don’t already know how to get to PsycARTICLES,
here are some instructions:
You
can search PsycARTICLES to find the exact reading on
the syllabus; I’d recommend an author search using the last name of the first
author, limiting the year to the exact year of publication. The article I’ve assigned should be the only,
or one of very few, articles that satisfies the search.
Articles
with an asterisk (*) in front of them are also available on-line, but you have
to search for them by going to the journal directly (under journal finder
via the library website), searching for the journal (either Annual Review of Psychology or Annual Review of Sociology, in this
case), then finding the right volume, the exact article, etc.
I
strongly recommend that you take some time at the beginning of the semester to
download all of the articles that you’ll need for the semester and create a set
of hard-copy readings for yourself right away.
“Technical difficulties” will not be a good excuse for not having done
the readings when they are due…
All
other readings are available through the psychology department office (except
for the Baker reading, also available via the web, with instructions below).
TENTATIVE CLASS SCHEDULE
|
Tuesday
Topics/Assignments |
Thursday
Topics/Assignments |
|
|
9/7: Intro to course and each other |
|
9/12:
Health and illness – Social constructs? Read: Lupton RP #1 due |
9/14:
Intro to semester-long small group project on health behavior change Read: Conner & Norman, Chapter 1 |
|
9/19:
What is health psychology? Read: |
9/21:
Intro to semester-long small group project on health behavior change,
continued |
|
9/26: SES and health Read: Adler, et al.; Ostrove, et al. |
9/28: SGR* – Models of health behavior change |
|
10/3: SES, race, gender, and health Read: Williams & Collins; McIntyre & Hunt |
10/5: SGR – Models of health behavior change,
continued |
|
10/10: Stress and health Read: Sapolsky; Cohen
et al. RP #2 due |
10/12: SGR – Health behaviors (proposal due) |
|
10/17: Stress and health Read: Clark et al.; Guyll
et al. |
10/19: Gathering data about health behaviors |
|
10/24: Responses to stress Read: Taylor, Klein, et al.: Norton, et al. ESSAY #1 DUE |
10/26
FALL BREAK |
|
10/31: Personality and health Read: Taylor, Kemeny,
et al.; Peterson et al.; Kubzansky et al. |
11/2: SGR – Previous research on health behaviors
|
|
11/7: Health, illness,
healthcare – Personal perspectives Read: Lorde; Remen; Samuels RP #3 due |
11/9:
Designing interventions (theoretical background due) |
|
11/14:
Guest – Dr. Ewa Peczalska: Working with patients with chronic illness |
11/16:
SGR – Your research on health behaviors |
|
11/23:
Social constructions of illness and disability Read: Wendell; Mairs |
11/25
THANKSGIVING BREAK |
|
11/28: The Human Genome Project and the future of
health Read: Baker; Dillard et al; Marteau
& Lerman RP #4 due |
11/30: SGR – Your intervention and assessment
proposals |
12/5: Health psych and public health – Examples from HIV/AIDS
Read: ESSAY #2 DUE 4:30 P.M. GROUP POSTER
PRESENTATION |
12/7: SGR – Your intervention and assessment
proposals, continued |
|
12/12: Guest – Kevin Winge Read: Winge |
12/14
LAST DAY OF CLASSES 12/18 FINAL HEALTH
BEHAVIOR CHANGE PROJECT DUE |
*SGR: Small group reports
Adler, N. E., Boyce, T., Chesney, M.
A., Cohen, S., Folkman, S., Kahn, R. L., and Syme, S. L. (1994). Socioeconomic status and health: The challenge of the gradient. American
Psychologist, 49, 15-24.
Baker, C. Your genes, your choices: Exploring the issues raised by genetic
research. (This is a
website reading, accessible through the syllabus on my website -- just click
right on the book cover, or go to Table of Contents, and read each of the
“chapters”)
*Baum, A., & Posluszny,
D. M. (1999). Health psychology: Mapping
biobehavioral contributions to health and illness. Annual
Review of Psychology, 50,
137-163.
*Bryan, A., Robbins, R. N., Ruiz, M. S., O’Neill,
D. (2006). Effectiveness
of an HIV prevention intervention in prison among African Americans, Hispanics,
and Caucasians. Health Education & Behavior, 33,
154-177.
Clark, R., Anderson, N. B., Clark, V. R., & Williams, D. R.
(1999). Racism as a stressor for African
Americans: A biopsychosocial
model. American Psychologist, 54, 805-816.
Cohen, S., Frank, E., Doyle, W. J., Skoner, D. P., Rabin, B. S., Gwaltney,
J. M. Jr. (1998). Types of stressors that
increase susceptibility to the common cold in healthy adults. Health
Psychology, 17, 214-223
*Dillard, J. P., Carson, C.
L., Bernard, C. J., Laxova, A., & Farrell, P. M.
(2004). An analysis of
communication following newborn screening for cystic fibrosis. Health
Communication, 16, 195-205.
Gonzalez, J. S., Penedo, F. J., et
al. (2004). Social
support, positive states of mind, and HIV treatment adherence in men and women
living with HIV/AIDS. Health Psychology, 23, 413-418.
Guyll, M., Matthews, K. A., Bromberger, J.
T. (2001). Discrimination and unfair treatment: Relationship to cardiovascular reactivity
among African American and European American women, Health Psychology, 20, 315-325.
Kubzansky, L. D.,
Sparrow, D., Vokonas, P., & Kawachi,
Lorde, A. (1990). Living with cancer. In E. C. White
(Ed.). The black women’s health book:
Speaking for ourselves (pp. 27-37).
Lupton, D. (2000).
The social construction of medicine and the body. In G. L. Albrecht, R.
Fitzpatrick, & S. C. Scrimshaw (Eds). The handbook of social studies in health and medicine (pp. 50-63).
Macintyre, S., & Hunt,
K. (1997). Socioeconomic position, gender and
health: How do they interact? Journal
of Health Psychology, 2, 315-334.
Mairs, N. (1996). Waist
high in the world: A life among the nondisabled.
*Marteau, T. M., & Lerman, C. (2001). Genetic risk and behavioural change. British
Medical Journal, 322, 1056-1059.
Norton, T. R., Manne, S. L., Rubin,
S., Hernandez, E., Carlson, R., Bergman, C., & Rosenblum,
N. (2005). Ovarian cancer patients’ psychological
distress: The role of physical
impairment, perceived unsupportive family and friend behaviors, perceived
control, and self-esteem, Health
Psychology, 24, 143-152.
Ostrove, J. M., Adler, N. E., Kuppermann,
M., & Washington, E. (2000). Objective and subjective
assessments of socioeconomic status and their relationship to self-rated health
in an ethnically diverse sample of pregnant women. Health Psychology, 19, 613-618.
Peterson, C., Seligman, M. E. P., & Valliant, G. E. (1988). Pessimistic explanatory
style is a risk factor for physical illness:
A thirty-five-year longitudinal study.
Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 55, 23-27.
Remen, R. N. (1996). Kitchen table wisdom: Stories that heal (pp. 44-45,
51-54). NY: Riverhead Books.
Samuels, E. (2003).
Excerpts from Body of mind: A mother-daughter love story (memoir in
progress). Women’s Studies Quarterly, 31, 190-193.
Sapolsky, R. (1998). Immunity, stress, and
disease. In Why zebras don’t get ulcers: An
updated guide to stress, stress-related diseases, and coping (pp.
126-158). NY: W. H. Freeman.
Specter, M. (2001, December 17).
Taylor, S. E.
(1990). Health psychology: The science and the field. American
Psychologist, 45, 40-50.
Taylor, S. E., Kemeny, M. E., Reed,
G. M., Bower, J. E., & Gruenewald, T. L. (2000). Psychological
resources, positive illusions, and health. American
Psychologist, 55, 99-109.
Wendell, S. (1996).
The rejected body: Feminist philosophical reflections on
disability. NY: Routledge, pp.
11-33.
Wenge, K. (2006). Excerpts from Never give up: Vignettes from
Sub-Saharan
*Williams, D. R., & Collins, C. (1995).
Grading Guidelines
I will use the following guidelines when I assign
marks to your reaction papers: In
general, a reaction paper that is turned in on time, is thoughtfully and
clearly written, and is related to the assigned reading(s) for the day will receive
a “check.” I mostly just want to know
what you think and want to give you a chance to express your views in this kind
of informal but regular format. I will
reserve “check plus” for the occasional reaction paper that is particularly
outstanding – super thoughtful, provocative, particularly well-written… Papers that do not relate at all to the
readings will receive a “check minus”, as will late reaction papers. It is much better to turn in a reaction paper
late, however, than not to turn it in at all…
Below are the guidelines I follow when assigning
grades to papers. I use plusses and
minuses when the work falls in between the qualities associated with each
letter grade. Grades are based both on
content and on writing style. I
encourage you to ask for help from me, the
“A” grades are assigned to outstanding papers. These papers reflect a deep engagement with
ideas, insightful analysis, and excellent mastery of the material from the
course. Argumentation is logical and
coherent, as well as well-documented.
The paper addresses all aspects of the assignment fully and
clearly. Finally, these “A” papers are
well-written with respect to style and grammar.
“B” grades are assigned to papers that demonstrate
good mastery of the material, are coherently written, and that contain some
insightful ideas. Sometimes “B” papers
contain some really good ideas, but do not carry out arguments as elegantly as
they could. Other times all of the
aspects of the assignment are there, but the ideas are not particularly
innovative.
“C” grades are given to papers that do not
adequately cover the assignment, demonstrate that the material was not fully
understood, and/or have problems with writing style. Sometimes “C” papers have some really good
parts, mixed in with some parts that seem like they were not well-thought out. Papers with consistent grammatical or
stylistic problems may receive a “C.”
“D” grades are assigned to papers that have serious
problems – parts of the assignment are totally missing or are really
incomplete, the writing is full of errors, the material was seriously
misunderstood.
“NC” grades are hardly ever given if a student has
put even some work into the paper/essay.
However, if the content is totally irrelevant, or the writing is such
that it is simply impossible for me to follow the arguments, then I would
assign a failing grade.