A1: Psychological Defenitions

Question 1

According to WHO, what is the definition of health?

Answer 1

A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

Question 2

What is ill health?

Answer 2

Any deviation from (health definition).

Question 3

What is the biomedical definition?

Answer 3

Diagnosis and treatment of health problems focuses primarily on physical or biological factors.

Question 4

What is the biopsychosocial definition?

Answer 4

(Engel, 1977) - diagnosis and treatment of health should take into account biological characteristics (e.g. genes), psychological/behavioural characteristics (e.g. stress) and social environment (e.g. family).

Question 5

What is meant by health as a continuum?

Answer 5

Health varies between two extremes, you can be very healthy, very unhealthy or anywhere in between.

Question 6

What is addiction?

Answer 6

A mental health problem in which an individual takes a substance or engages in a behaviour that is pleasurable but eventually becomes compulsive with harmful consequences.

Question 7

What is physiological addiction?

Answer 7

Involves compulsively taking a substance in which you can build up a tolerance and experience withdrawal symptoms when you reduce or abstain.

Question 8

What is a behavioural addiction?

Answer 8

Involves compulsively doing an action (behaviour) in which you can build up tolerance and experience withdrawal symptoms when you reduce or abstain.

Question 9

What are Griffifths six components of addiction?

Answer 9

Salience, tolerance, withdrawal, relapse, conflict, mood alteration.

Question 10

What is salience?

Answer 10

The addict comes to depend upon the substance/behaviour and it becomes the most important thing in their life.

Question 11

What is tolerance?

Answer 11

More of the substance/behaviour is needed to experience the same ‘buzz’ from the last/first time.

Question 12

What is withdrawal?

Answer 12

Unpleasant symptoms experienced when the addict reduces/abstains from the substance/behaviour. Can be physiological (headaches) or psychological (low mood).

Question 13

What is relapse?

Answer 13

Reverting back to an addiction after a period of reduction/abstinence.

Question 14

What is interpersonal conflict?

Answer 14

Interpersonal conflict is when the addict is clashing with the people around them due to their addiction.

Question 15

What is intrapersonal conflict?

Answer 15

Intrapersonal conflict is an internal clash within the addict due to their addiction.

Question 16

What is mood alteration?

Answer 16

The addict’s mood tends to change dramatically when taking the substance/engaging in the behaviour.

Question 17

What is stress?

Answer 17

A physiological and psychological state of arousal that arises when we believe we do not have the ability to cope with perceived threats (stressors).

Question 18

What is a stressor?

Answer 18

Any feature of the environment that causes a stress response.

Question 19

What is perceived ability to cope?

Answer 19

The perceptions of the stressor will influence the stress response.

Question 20

What are internal and external coping resources?

Answer 20

Internal: psychological, includes resilience
External: social support

Question 21

What are physical and psychological stressors?

Answer 21

Physical: environment - temperature, noise, overcrowding
Psychological: major events in lives, everyday niggles/annoyances, the workplace, personalities

Question 22

In terms of the stress response, what is physical and psychological stress responses?

Answer 22

Physical: how the body physically responds to a stressor
Psychological: emotion you experience when a stressor occurs.