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Psychosocial Sciences

Code: 106102
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Nursing FB 1

Contact lecturer

Name :
Albert Fernandez Teruel
Email :
albert.fernandez.teruel@uab.cat

Teaching staff

Pablo Oromendia Rodríguez
Marta Sorribes Puertas
Rosa Maria Escorihuela Agullo
Lydia Gimenez Llort
Constanza Denisse Daigre Blanco
Anastasya Ivanova Serokhvostova
Sara Nieves Maurel Ibanez
Yolanda Pardo Cladellas
Beatriz Molinuevo Alonso
Oren Contreras Rodriguez

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

None

Objectives

The subject "Psychosocial Sciences" is taught in the first year of the Degree in Nursing.


The general objective of the subject is to provide the student with the social bases of human behavior,

supported by neurobiological knowledge as well as basic knowledge between psychology and health that should allow to establish and maintain a good relationship with patients, relatives / caregivers and other professionals.


All these objectives must contribute to the students achieving a wealth of skills that they must

enable a better understanding of the behavior of users of health systems, of their own behavior and

of professional health-user interaction.

Learning outcomes

  • KM14 (Identify methods for assessing care needs throughout the life cycle.) Identify methods for assessing care needs throughout the life cycle.
  • KM15 (Identify people's psychological and social responses to different situations and/or problems related to health, illness and suffering.) Identify people's psychological and social responses to different situations and/or problems related to health, illness and suffering.
  • SM01 (Use scientific evidence in professional practice) Use scientific evidence in professional practice
  • SM06 (Analyse people's interactive behaviour based on gender and other social determinants, taking into account their implications for health and disease processes in a social and multicultural context.) Analyse people's interactive behaviour based on gender and other social determinants, taking into account their implications for health and disease processes in a social and multicultural context.
  • SM07 (Identify the stages in the cycle of gender-based violence.) Identify the stages in the cycle of gender-based violence.
  • SM08 (Identify situations of abuse throughout the life cycle.) Identify situations of abuse throughout the life cycle.
  • SM09 (Identify physical and psychological health problems stemming from gender-based violence.) Identify physical and psychological health problems stemming from gender-based violence.

Contents

THEORY




BLOCK 1: LEARNING AND PERSONALITY


Topic 1. Learning: What, how, when ... we learn.


Definition of learning. Classic conditioning. Conditioning of physiological processes. Classical conditioning and health / illness. Instrumental conditioning. Instrumental conditioning and health / disease. Vicarious learning.




Topic 2. Personality


Basic concepts. Personality structure. Personality assessment. Genetic and environmental influences. Personality and health. Abnormal personalities.




BLOCK 2: SOCIAL BASES OF CONDUCT


Topic 3. Social relations


The study of social relations in the laboratory: the minimum social situation, the \"prisoner's dilemma\". Social conflicts: the most common causes, the mechanisms for resolving them, the common mistakes in conflict resolution. Altruistic behavior: explanatory models. When do we help? Who helps? Who do we help? Nursing, Medicine and Psychology. Professional roles, disciplines and hierarchies in patient care and attention. Healthy people, sick people and health workers: from charity to science. Trade union conflicts and intergroup collaboration.




Topic 4. Aggressive behavior


Concept. Type of aggression. Development of aggressive behavior. Learning mechanisms. Facilitators and

inhibitors of aggressive behavior. Biology of aggression. Nature and culture Aggressive and antisocial

personalities: most relevant clinical aspects. Aggressive behavior in medical practice: detection of risk

variables, prevention.




Topic 5. Attitudes and social beliefs


Concept and components of attitudes. Attitudes and behavior. Measurement of attitudes. How attitudes are formed. Persuasion and change of attitudes. Social beliefs. Heuristics and cognitive bias in decision making. Attitudes, beliefs and cognitive biases in patients and health professionals




Topic 6. Explanation of behavior and social influences


Causal attribution. The fundamental attribution error. Self-perception. Culture, social norms, roles and behavior. Social pressure, conformity and obedience. Group influence and behavior. Individual and situation in the behavior of people. Attribution of causality, self-perception, social influence, health and disease






Block 3: PSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENT AND HEALTH


Topic 7. Psychology and neurobiology of development

Physical, cerebral, cognitive and social development: prenatal period, childhood and adolescence. Basic

neurobiology of development. The brain and changes in mental functions throughout life.




Topic 8. Psychology of aging


Multidisciplinary gerontology. Individual and social novelty of aging. Biological basis of aging. Health, disease and well-being in normal aging and in the geriatric patient. Functional assessment and geriatric assessment scales. Pain and other comorbidities. Therapeutic window and iatrogenic. Risk factors and protectors in normal and pathological aging. Psychology and sociology of aging. Aging and dying. The mourning.




Topic 9. Stress, health and illness

Concept. Acute versus chronic stress. Controllability and predictability. Physiological systems activated in the

stress response and neural control mechanisms. Stress and immune system. Strategies to deal with stress.

The consequences of stress: physiological and metabolic alterations, psychopathological alterations, cognitive

alterations. Protective factors. Vulnerability.




Topic 10. Behavior and health

Adaptive and maladaptive habits. Tobacco, alcohol and other drugs. Physical exercise. Feeding. Sexual

behavior Driving. Personality and health: lifestyles, behavior patterns. The individualrisk variables. Modification

of maladaptive habits and promotion of healthy behaviors in different types of patients and circumstances.




Topic 11. Evaluation of the results and the experiences in health from the perspective of the patient


Basic concepts. Types of instruments: generic or specific, psychometric or econometric. Applications in research, health management and clinical practice. International initiatives for the selection and implementation of tools for evaluating patient outcomes and experiences.





SEMINARS/PRACTICAL LESSONS

1. Anxiety and Stress: measurement and management

2. Pain

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
SEMINARS (SEM) 4 0.16 KM14, KM15, SM01, SM06, SM07, SM08, SM09
PERSONAL STUDY/ACTIVITY 90 3.6 KM14, KM15, SM01, SM06, SM07, SM08, SM09
TUTORSHIPS 3 0.12 KM14, KM15, SM01, SM06, SM07, SM08, SM09
THEORETICAL LESONS 46 1.84 KM14, KM15, SM01, SM06, SM07, SM08, SM09

METHODOLOGY.-

Theoretical classes, seminars (SEM), virtual activities (optional) and autonomous activities (individual study, bibliographic or documentary consultations, Virtual Campus and Moodle consultation). The evaluable theoretical content will include the material explained in the theory classes and the chapters or parts of the chapters of the textbook of the subject [FELDMAN, R. (2019). Understanding Psychology (14th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill] to determine faculty for each subject.


COURSE ACTIVITIES:

Type: Directed

Basic psychological, psychosocial and neurobiological processes, in relation to the psychosocial bases of processes

stakeholders in health-illness (Master classes, and classroom practical lessons (PAUL): 52 h)

Type: Supervised (optional)

Visualization of audiovisual material and resolution of practical cases: \"Biases of thought/cognition\", \"The power of the situations / Social influence\",

\"Stress.\" (Supervised activities: 3 h)


Type: Autonomous

Autonomous activities: Individual study of the student, bibliographic or documentary consultations, consultation of

virtual campus, consultations with the tutor or teacher (92.5 hours)

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Assessment and participation in seminars/practices "on place", through short questions 15% 1 0.04 KM14, KM15, SM01, SM06, SM07, SM08, SM09
Written evaluation through short open questions (supervised activity) 35 % 2 0.08 KM14, KM15, SM01, SM06, SM07, SM08, SM09
Written evaluation through multiple choice exams (supervised activity) 50 % 4 0.16 KM14, KM15, SM01, SM06, SM07, SM08, SM09

REQUIREMENTS TO PASS THE SUBJECT

For evaluative purposes, the course is divided into 2 blocks: a) Block first part of theory that includes the subject of theory corresponding to topics 1 to 6; b) Block second part of theory that includes the matter of theory of the subjects 7 to 11 and the 2 seminars/practical lessons.

To pass the subject, you must have passed each of the three Blocks with a minimum grade of 5.0.

Students will have two opportunities to pass each of the Blocks: the first, in the calls for partial assessments and the second in the resit (recovery) test.


CONTINUED EVALUATION

1. Partial evaluations

There will be two partial assessments of the subject during the course. The dates will be set by the Coordination Team of the Teaching Unit. These assessments, if passed, will serve to eliminate material from the recovery test. Each exam will result in a separate grade. The questions will have a multiple choice format with five answer options and only one valid option.

The exam questions are written in Catalan and Spanish.

A correction will be applied to discount random hits [Corrected score = (hits - (errors / 4))] which will be transformed into a note that can vary between 0 and 10.

The first partial evaluation will consist of an examination: First partial theory, of between 36-40 questions on the contents of the Block first part of theory;

The second partial evaluation, will include exams: a) Second partial theory, between 30-36 questions on the contents of the Block second part of theory, and 6-10 questions on the contents of the 2 seminars/practical lessons.

After each assessment, students will have a period of 24 hours to send, through the Virtual Campus, comments or complaints about the questions, which will be analyzed by teachers before publishing the provisional list of grades. An examination review session will be convened after the list is published.


2. Attendance and active participation in class and virtual activities

2.1. Active participation in class: Throughout the semester, there will be 2 evaluation activities, during the seminars/practices, with the aim that students can demonstrate their active participation in the teaching process of the subject.


RECOVERY TEST

Students who have not passed the subject by means of the partial evaluations will be able to present to a Test of recovery the day fixed by the Coordination Team of the Teaching Unit. The test will consist of 2 parts: a) First partial theory; b) Second partial theory, including questions on the contents of the 2 seminars/practices.

The characteristics of the exams as well as the formula for calculating the grade will be the same as those of the partial assessments.

After the exams, students will have a period of 24 hours to send comments or complaints about the questions through the Virtual Campus, which will be analyzed by the teachers before publishing the provisional list of grades. An examination review session will be convened after the list is published.

Students who have not passed the subject through partial assessments and who on the day of the Recovery Test do not take the exam or exams of the parts not passed, will be classified as \"NOT EVALUABLE\".


FINAL MARK OF THE SUBJECT

Final mark (final grade) = (((First partial grade) + (Second partial grade)/2)*0.85) + (grade of the short questions of the practicals/seminars part * 0.15).

This formula will only be applied in the case that a mark of 5.0 has been obtained in each of the 2 Blocks of the subject.

The final mark of the students who have not passed the three parts of the subject after the Recovery Test, will be:

In the event that the resulting grade after applying the formula for calculating the Final Grade is ≤ 4.7, that grade will be placed.

In the event that the resulting grade after applying the formula for calculating the Final Grade is> 4.7, the final grade will be 4.7.


SINGLE ASSESSMENT

The people assigned to the SINGLE EVALUATION will have AN EVALUATION TEST at the end of the course, coinciding with the \"RECOVERY TEST\" of the people with \"CONTINUED EVALUATION\", which will have the same characteristics and will be scored the same as what has been described above. This evaluation will include:

(I)- Two PARTIAL evaluations (2 partial exams): (1st PARTIAL + 2nd PARTIAL) * 0.85

(II)- A \"test of 6-8 short questions\" that will correspond to the 2 seminars/classroom practices. (Mark of \"test of short questions\") * 0.15

The FINAL MARK/GRADE will be the sum of (I) + (II).


RECOVERY TEST FOR PEOPLE WITH \"SINGLE ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION\"

The RECOVERY TEST for people with SINGLE ASSESSMENT will consist of an exam with short questions, 1 question for each theory topic and 1 question for each practice/seminar (total 13 short questions).


ABOUT THE \"NOT EVALUABLE\" (NA) GRADE.-

At the end of the course, when the final grades of the subject are entered in the official \"ACTAS\", those people who are considered not to have provided sufficient evidence of evaluation of the subject will be considered as \"NOT EVALUABLE\" (and the grade \"NA\" will be entered).


IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT \"AI\".-

In this subject, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is not allowed in any of its phases. Any work or response to evaluation questions that includes fragments generated with AI will be considered a lack of academic honesty and may lead to a partial or total penalty in the grade of the activity, or greater sanctions in serious cases.



Bibliography

Bibliography

Specific bibliography

FELDMAN, R. (2019). Understanding Psychology (14th. Ed). New York: McGraw Hill Bibliografia de consulta


Further optional bibliography

BORRELL, F. (2004). Entrevista clínica. Manual de estrategias prácticas. Barcelona: semFYC.

BRANNON, L. & FEIST, J. (2001). Psicología de la salud. Madrid: Paraninfo.

BUCKMAN, R. (1998). Com donar les males notícies: una guia per a professionals de la salut. Vic: Eumo.

CLÈRIES, X. (2006). La comunicación. Una competencia esencial para los profesionales de la salud. Barcelona: Masson.

FERNÁNDEZ TERUEL, A. (2010). Psicofarmacología, terapias psicológicas y tratamientos combinados

(I). Utilidad comparada en los trastornos mentales. Barcelona: Ed. UOC.

MOLINUEVO, B. (2017). La comunicación no verbal en la relación médico-paciente. Barcelona: UOC.

MYERS, D.G. (2005) Psicología (7a. ed.). Buenos Aires: Editorial Médica Panamericana.

MYERS, D.G. (2000). Psicologia social (6a. ed.). Santa Fe de Bogotá: McGraw-Hill.

SAPOLSKY. R. M. (2008). ¿Por qué las cebras no tienen úlcera?. La guía del estrés. Madrid: Alianza Ensayo.

SANDI, C. & CALES, J.M. (2000). Estrés: consecuencias psicológicas fisiológicas y clínicas. Madrid: Sanz y Torres.

SCHATER DL, GILBERT DT, WEGNER DM (2009-2011). Psychology. Worth Publishers.

TOBEÑA, A., (2003). Anatomía de la agresividad humana (de la violencia al belicismo). Barcelona: Debolsillo.


And other Bibliography that could Professors recommend.

Software

No specific programs (software) required.

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TE) Theory 101 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 101 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 102 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 102 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 103 Catalan first semester afternoon
(SEM) Seminars 103 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 104 Catalan/Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 105 Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 106 Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 107 Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 108 Catalan/Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(SEM) Seminars 109 Catalan first semester afternoon
(SEM) Seminars 110 Catalan first semester afternoon
(SEM) Seminars 111 Catalan first semester afternoon
(SEM) Seminars 112 Catalan first semester afternoon