PSY3033 : Eating and Weight Disorders
- Offered for Year: 2023/24
- Module Leader(s): Dr Mei Yee Tang
- Lecturer: Dr Gavin Clark
- Owning School: Psychology
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
| Semester 2 Credit Value: | 20 |
| ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
Aims
The aim of this course is to provide a summary of weight and eating-related syndromes and symptoms, including clinical eating disorders, eating disordered behaviour, and obesity. It focuses on issues around cause, diagnosis, intervention, and treatment options for eating and weight disorders, concentrating primarily on psychological therapies. The course will have input from clinicians and researchers who have experience in investigating, developing and delivering treatment therapies and long-term care programmes to those with eating and weight disorders.
Outline Of Syllabus
Topics covered include:
Determinants of Eating Behaviour
Clinical Definitions of Eating Disorders
Body Image, Media and the ‘Ideal’ Body
Eating disorders in men
Conceptual models and causal risk factors for Eating Disorders
Psychological Treatments for Eating Disorders
Disordered Eating in Children and Adolescents
Obesity and Body Image in Children and Adolescents
Obesity in adults
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 78:00 | 78:00 | Preparation for the examination |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 11 | 2:00 | 22:00 | Present in person delivery of teaching materials and activities to support student learning |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 8 | 1:00 | 8:00 | Online formative activities to prepare for assessment |
| Guided Independent Study | Directed research and reading | 1 | 84:00 | 84:00 | Suggested further reading and exploration of the literature |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 4 | 2:00 | 8:00 | Present in-person discussions & group activities in fortnightly seminars |
| Total | 200:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
Lecture materials present a systematic perspective on the subject with reference to alternative perspectives. Formative learning activities (online) allow students to apply and self-test key knowledge and practice writing increasingly more extensive pieces of work ahead of the exam. Present in person seminars allow for general feedback on the formative activities to be given, allow us to revisit tricky areas (e.g. diagnosis) and allow for real-time small group discussions about overarching issues and debates, deepening students’ knowledge of the key topics. Seminars will also include revision preparation, a practice exam and general Q and A.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Exams
| Description | Length | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Written Examination | 120 | 2 | A | 100 | Essay question (2 out of 5 questions); unseen, present in person |
Formative Assessments
| Description | Semester | When Set | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 2 | M | Essay exam practice |
| Written exercise | 2 | M | Online learning activities - graduated written exercises via Canvas and/or Qualtrics with immediate automated feedback |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
Formative assessment
Essay exam practice: Essay outlines will be produced under exam conditions in response to exam question examples; essay plans will be presented to the group as a whole. Other example essay plans are available on the VLE. The lecturer then verbally reviews the marking scheme used for these essays. The activity provides learners with the experience of planning and writing exam essays and of comparing their answers to the marking schemes.
Formative online learning activities: These are graduated written exercises completed via Qualtrics/Canvas to consolidate lecture content and prepare for the exam - automated feedback is provided immediately on completion of each exercise, and longer verbal feedback is provided in the seminar sessions. These informal formative assessments allow learners to consolidate key lecture content around central critical evaluative themes.
Summative assessment
In the final examination, students will be presented with two unseen essays (two questions from an open choice of six). This will allow students to demonstrate both factual knowledge, and – by their organization of material – abstract systematic understanding of topics related to key issues in eating and weight disorders research in an objective and rigorous manner. Each essay should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
Marks will be equally distributed between the two essays.
FMS Schools offering Semester One modules available as ‘Study Abroad’ will, where required, provide an alternative assessment time for examinations that take place after the Christmas vacation. Coursework with submissions dates after the Christmas vacation will either be submitted at an earlier date or at the same time remotely.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- PSY3033's Timetable