Psychology of Wellbeing - PSY00021I
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Semester 2 2023-24 |
Module aims
This module seeks to introduce students to the complexity of the term ‘well-being’. It covers core well-being concepts such as the biopsychosocial model, differentiates wellbeing from resilience, and explores cross-cultural idiosyncrasies in how well-being is experienced. Students will also gain relevant insight into the real-world applications of well-being research as attention will be paid to what findings tell us about well-being within the university student population.
Module learning outcomes
- Differentiate psychological wellbeing from resilience
- Identify core factors related to psychological wellbeing and resilience
- Evaluate how various factors interact to influence an individual's levels of wellbeing and their levels of resilience
- Detail how wellbeing and resilience varies across different cultures
- Apply psychological wellbeing and resilience research findings to the student population
- Develop an understanding of how wellbeing and resilience can be researched
Module content
The course will cover 4 key topics:
1) Psychological well-being focus on the biopsychosocial model (biological e.g. temperament and genetics; psychological e.g. optimism, grit; growth mindset; social e.g. life events and social support)
2) Resilience - differentiating having good levels of wellbeing from having the capacity to maintain psychological integrity during adversity (stressors and buffering models; thinking patterns (including religious thinking patterns); coping mechanisms; hardiness)
3) Application to student wellbeing - Here we will lectures to apply what we have explored in the first four lectures to students. The focus will be on understanding the complexity of applying general findings to specific student groups (e.g. disabled students; LGBTQIA; international; BAME). For instance, we can look at how religion maybe more impactful for BAME, but that they also may experience different stressors (e.g. microaggressions)
4) Improving well-being - Here we will introduce students to non-traditional (e.g. gardening, exercise, travel (and the impact of weather), art, mindfulness, religion-based therapies, pet therapy (e.g. goat yoga), and music) as well as traditional methods (e.g. psychotherapy)
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Closed/in-person Exam (Centrally scheduled) | 50 |
| Essay/coursework | 50 |
Special assessment rules
None
Indicative reassessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Closed/in-person Exam (Centrally scheduled) | 50 |
| Essay/coursework | 50 |
Module feedback
The marks on all assessed work will be provided on e-vision.
Indicative reading
None specified.