PY0CHP: Cognition and Health Promotion

Module code: PY0CHP

Module provider: Psychology; School of Psych and Clin Lang Sci

Credits: 20

Level: F

When you’ll be taught: Semester 2

Module convenor: Dr Yue Yue, email: yue.yue@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2026/7

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 23 April 2026

Overview

Module aims and purpose

The aim of this module is to provide students with a comprehensive and integrated understanding of core psychological principles across two domains: Cognitive Psychology and Health Psychology. The module specifically aims to:

• Introduce key theories and classic research studies in cognitive processes and well-being. The focus on cognitive health, resilience, and emotional regulation supports Global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3 and 4, which aims to promote mental health and well-being.
• Examine concepts of health and illness within their broader social and cultural contexts. The contextual examination contributes to understanding health inequalities, supporting SDGs 3, 5 and 10
• Foster applied psychological skills, including critical and creative thinking, effective memory and attention strategies, resilience building, and emotional regulation techniques, directly contributing to their academic success and personal well-being. The development of these psychological skills promotes informed action and directly supports SDG 4.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate the understanding of core theories, classic research findings, and key models within the fields of Cognitive and Health Psychology.
2. Analyse and evaluate how social, cultural, and individual contexts influence experiences of health, illness, and overall psychological well-being.
3. Demonstrate reflectiveness and self-awareness, drawing on both psychological literature and personal learning experience.

Module content

The module commences with Module Briefing and Assessment Briefing to establish the course structure, requirements, and expectations.

The subsequent weeks are dedicated to foundational Cognitive Processes, with each topic integrating contemporary applications to enhance practical skills:

• Attention and Social Media: This session examines the fundamental mechanisms of attention and explores how modern technology, specifically social media, impacts our capacity for focus and attention allocation.
• Memory and Improvement Strategies: This covers key theories of memory and provides practical, evidence-based techniques for enhancing memory function and study skills.
• Learning and Thinking: This addresses processes of learning, incorporating a critical analysis of modern issues, such as the implications and challenges posed by artificial intelligence (AI).
• Creativity and Innovation: This explores the psychology of creative thinking and its crucial application in the context of generating innovation and effective problem-solving.

The second half of the module shifts focus to Health Psychology and the application of psychological principles to enhancing well-being, managing stress, and addressing chronic illness:

• Health and Well-being: This introduces core concepts of health and illness, utilising the Biopsychosocial Model to understand how biological, psychological, and social factors interact in defining health status.
• Stress and Resilience: This covers the psychological and physiological aspects of stress and examines strategies and traits that are key to building resilience in individuals.
• Emotional Intelligence: This focuses on the theory of emotional intelligence and provides actionable strategies for effectively managing and regulating emotions.
• Pain and Pain Management: This addresses the complex psychological dimensions of pain and explores evidence-based psychological interventions used to support individuals managing chronic illnesses.
• Health Promotion: The final session examines psychological theories and techniques used for health promotion and facilitating long-term health behaviour change and illness prevention.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The module is delivered in person through a combination of lectures and interactive seminars. All teaching materials, including lecture and workshop slides, will be posted on Blackboard in advance of each session. Teaching is organised into weekly 2-hour lectures followed by 1-hour seminars. Assessment briefings for both formative and summative tasks will also be available on Blackboard. Students are expected to engage in weekly independent study using the reading list on TALIS, which provides essential materials for each topic.

Study hours

At least 33 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each calendar day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three calendar days;
• where the piece of work is submitted up to three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in you Individual Learning Plan), the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three calendar days of the deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

Where a piece of work is submitted late after a deadline which has been revised owing to an extension granted through the Assessment Adjustments policy and process (self-certified or otherwise), it will be subject to the maximum penalty (i.e., considered to be more than three calendar days late). This will also apply when such an extension is used in conjunction with a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: /cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Writing exercises on the discussion board. Instructions will be provided to guide students through the process of developing essential reflective writing skills. A key feature of these exercises is the learning space for students to view and learn from others' writing responses, promoting shared insights. Group feedback will be provided. This allows students to benefit from seeing common strengths and weaknesses across different approaches to the assignment, and clarify misunderstandings about the assignment requirements.

Reassessment

Additional costs