1) Biopsychosocial Model + Stress

Question 1

What is health psychology?

Answer 1

Is the contribution of psychology to preventing illness, promoting good health and treatment and understanding psychological concepts of illness.

Question 2

What is the biomedical model?

Answer 2

Medicine not interested in psychological or social factors. Illness understood biologically and physiologically with treatment involving physical intervention (drugs, surgery)

Question 3

Why has death rate decreased and life expectancy increased?

Answer 3

Medical advances (drugs, vaccines) and social improvement (housing, diet)

Question 4

What are now the most common cause of death?

Answer 4

Chronic diseases

Question 5

What is the biopsychosocial model?

Answer 5

Model linking those 3 aspects to health

Question 6

Why is the biopsychosocial model important?

Answer 6

Patients seen as real people, doctors see mental health and understanding feelings/emotions

Question 7

What is the physiological response to stress?

Answer 7

Short term changes to mobilise for activity, triggered by catecholamines (adrenaline)

Question 8

Examples of physiological response to stress:

Answer 8

Increased O2 availability
Increased glucose
Conservation of energy resources
Increase in cardiac output
Increase in blood pressure

Question 9

What is eustress?

Answer 9

Positive stress giving optimal performance

Question 10

What is the transactional model of stress?

Answer 10

The balance of demands (stressors) and resources to appraise a situation. If demands are greater than resources = stress response

Question 11

What is the primary appraisal?

Answer 11

Is the event a threat?

Question 12

What is the secondary appraisal?

Answer 12

Do I have the resources or skills to cope?

Question 13

What is the reappraisal?

Answer 13

Reconsider the situation once have tried to cope with it

Question 14

How does control affect stress?

Answer 14

Higher control = less stress

Question 15

How does social support affects stress?

Answer 15

Buffer against stress and helps cope when there is stress

Question 16

How can stress cause physical damage?

Answer 16

Physiological responses can cause damage in long term. Often on CVS and vulnerable to infection due to long term effects of cortisol on immune system

Question 17

Why can stress cause unhealthy behaviours?

Answer 17

Coping may involve unhealthy behaviours which help short term but damaging over long term e.g. smoking and drinking

Question 18

What impact can stress have on mental health?

Answer 18

Thinking more rigid and extreme leading to overgeneralisation and rumination (dwelling on neg. thoughts). Anxiety and depression causing low motivation / downward spiral of illness

Question 19

Examples of stress management:

Answer 19

Cognitive strategies (thinking differently)
Behavioural strategies –skills training
Emotional strategies –counselling, social support
Physical strategies –relaxation, exercise
Non-cognitive strategies –drugs

Question 20

What ways can stress have an impact on health?

Answer 20

Physical damage
Depressing immune system
Mental health
Unhealthy behaviours