A3: Theories Of Stress, Behavioural Addiction And Physiological Addiction

Question 1

What is the health belief model (HBM)?

Answer 1

Predicts the likelihood of behaviour change. Key factors are perceived seriousness, perceived susceptibility, cost-benefit analysis, demographic variables, cues to action and self-efficacy.

Question 2

What are the three steps of the health belief model?

Answer 2

Perceived seriousness
Perceived susceptibility
Cost-benefit analysis

Question 3

What is perceived seriousness?

Answer 3

How harmful will the consequences be if I do not change my health?

Question 4

What is perceived susceptibility?

Answer 4

How personally and realistically vulnerable am I to an illness/disease?

Question 5

What is cost-benefit analysis?

Answer 5

An individual weighs up the balance between the perceived benefits of changing behaviour and the perceived barriers (obstacles to change).

Question 6

What are the modifying factors of the HBM?

Answer 6

Demographic variables
Cues to action
Self-efficacy

Question 7

What are demographic variables?

Answer 7

The characteristics of a population and an individual,such as age, sex, education level, income level, marital status, occupation, religion.

Question 8

What are cues to action?

Answer 8

Internal: e.g. experience of symptoms such as pain
External: e.g. media campaigns, awareness of other people with the disease

Question 9

What is self-efficacy in relation to the HBM?

Answer 9

Does the individual believe they have the ability to successfully change their health?

Question 10

HBM: Strength: Williamson and Wardle (2002)

Answer 10

Used the HBM to devise a programme to increase the number of people seeking screening for bowel and colon cancers.

Question 11

HBM: Strength: Strong Credibility

Answer 11

Developed by heath researchers who worked directly with people who wanted to change their health-related behaviours so they based the model on real life experiences of health problems.

Question 12

HBM: Weakness: Zimmerman and Vernberg (1994)

Answer 12

Argued that once self-efficacy and demographic factors (and other variables) are added, the HBM becomes a different model altogether.

Question 13

HBM: Weakness: How rational are we?

Answer 13

Rational decisions on health related behaviours aren’t always made and this model assumes they are but it is unclear whether we make health-related decisions based on logic, emotion, habit or all three.

Question 14

Locus of control: Rotter (1966)

Answer 14

Proposed that some people believe the things that happen to them are likely under their control.

Question 15

Internal locus of control

Answer 15

Internals believe they are in control of their own behaviour and attribute their successes/failures to themselves. Positive health related changes are more likely.

Question 16

External locus of control

Answer 16

Externals do not feel in control and attribute their own successes/failures to luck, circumstance or other people. They feel hopeless to change their health.

Question 17

LoC: Strength: Avtgis (1998)

Answer 17

Found that high externals were more persuadable and conformist than high internals.

Question 18

LoC: Strength: Gale et al. (2008)

Answer 18

Measured the LoC of 7551 children aged 10 and found by the time they were 30, internals were less likely than externals to be obese or experience psychological stress.

Question 19

LoC: Weakness: Rotter (1982)

Answer 19

Later pointed out LoC is only relevant in novel situations as it has little effect on our behaviour in familiar situations where previous experience is always more important.

Question 20

LoC: Weakness: Krause (1986)

Answer 20

Found that extreme internals respond to unavailable events by becoming stressed, just as externals do (but for different reasons) so bring internal doesn’t automatically protect you from stress.

Question 21

What is theory of planed behaviour?

Answer 21

Changes in behaviour can be predicted from our intention to change, which in turn is the outcome of personal attitudes towards the behaviour in question, our beliefs about what others think and our perceived ability to control our behaviour.

Question 22

What are personal attitudes?

Answer 22

The balance of a person’s favourable and unfavourable attitudes about their behaviour. There are positive attitudes and negative attitudes.

Question 23

What are positive and negative attitudes?

Answer 23

Positive: e.g. “I enjoy smoking” less likely to make health-related behavioural changes
Negative: e.g. “My addiction is ruining my life” More likely to change behaviour

Question 24

What are subjective norms?

Answer 24

If we feel our friends and family disapprove of our health we are more likely to change. If they approve of our health we are less likely to change.

Question 25

What is perceived behavioural control?

Answer 25

A person who feels in control of their health = more likely to make health-related behavioural changes and vice versa.

Question 26

TPB: Strength: Hagger et al. (2011)

Answer 26

Found that personal attitudes, subjective norms and pbc all predicted an intention to limit drinking to guideline number of units and actual behaviour at one month and three month follow ups.

Question 27

TBC: Strength: Louis et al. (2009)

Answer 27

Found that personal attitudes towards eating predicted intention to eat healthily but subjective norms did not.

Question 28

TBC: Weakness: Miller and Howell (2005)

Answer 28

Found that they could not predict the reduction of actual gambling behaviour from intentions to give up in teenagers.

Question 29

TBC: Weakness: McEachan et al. (2011)

Answer 29

Found that the strength of correlation between intentions and actual behaviour was stronger when the two took place in close time proximity.

Question 30

What is self-efficacy theory?

Answer 30

Refers to the belief we have in our ability to carry out an action/task. Bandura: suggested it is central to our motivation to change behaviour.

Question 31

People with high self efficacy?

Answer 31

Believe that they will be successful and therefore are more strongly motivated to tackle difficult tasks.

Question 32

People with low self efficacy?

Answer 32

Believe they will fail and therefore avoid such challenges.

Question 33

1: Mastery Experiences?

Answer 33

An individual needs to be provided with opportunities to perform a health-related task successfully. The experience must challenge the person but not overwhelm them.

Question 34

2: Vicarious reinforcement

Answer 34

Show the individual someone with whom they identify succeeding at changing their health to promote the belief that ‘if they can do it, so can I’

Question 35

3: Social persuasion

Answer 35

Encouragement and discouragement from others can have a profound impact on our self-efficacy. E.g. “I believe you can do this” must be from a credible source.

Question 36

4: Emotional states

Answer 36

Negative: (stress, anxiety, fear) reduce self-efficacy.
Positive: (relaxation) increases self-efficacy.

Question 37

S-e: strength: Strecher et al.

Answer 37

Found strong relationships between self-efficacy beliefs and behaviour change in the areas of weight control, contraception use, exercise etc.

Question 38

S-e: strength: Several strategies/interventions produce behaviour change.

Answer 38

For example, the theory suggests breaking down mastery experiences and using relaxation training to reduce anxiety to improve self-efficacy and making change more likely.

Question 39

S-e: Weakness: Eastman and Marzillier

Answer 39

Argue that the questionnaires used to measure self-efficacy (incl Bandura’s own) are unclear, open to interpretation and in many cases, not measuring self-efficacy at all.

Question 40

S-e: Vancouver et al.

Answer 40

Found that high self-efficacy may lead to overconfidence, which means the individual makes less effort the next time they perform the task.

Question 41

What is the transtheoretical model?

Answer 41

Explains the stages people go through to change their behaviour. It identifies stages of change, from not considering it at all to making permanent changes. The stages are not necessarily followed in a linear order.

Question 42

Precontemplation

Answer 42

Not thinking about changing their health in the next six months.

Question 43

Two reasons for precontemplation?

Answer 43

Denial: the person has never considered changing because they don’t believe they have a problem
Demotivation: person has tried many times to tackle addiction, without success and is now demoralised and doesn’t intend to try again.

Question 44

Contemplation

Answer 44

Considering changing their health in the next six months but haven’t committed to it (ambivalence).

Question 45

Preparation

Answer 45

The individual has decided the benefits outweigh the costs and they will change their behaviour in the next month.

Question 46

Action

Answer 46

The individual has done something to change their health within the last six months.

Question 47

Maintenance

Answer 47

The person has maintained health-related behavioural changes for more than 6 months and is focusing on on preventing relapse by avoiding cues.

Question 48

TM: Weakness: Contradictory research evidence

Answer 48

West concluded ‘…the problems with the model are so serious…it should be discarded’

Question 49

TM: Weakness: Arbitrary nature of the stages

Answer 49

Sutton points out that if an individual plans to stop smoking in 30 days then they are in the preparation stage, but if they plan to give up in 31 days, they are in the contemplation stage.

Question 50

TM: Strength: Dynamic nature of behaviour

Answer 50

Dynamic process: For example, the model emphasises the importance of time, viewing overcoming an addiction a continuing process and proposing that behavioural changes vary in duration for each person and that the stages are recycled backwards and forwards to different degrees.

Question 51

TM: Strength: Attitude to relapse

Answer 51

For example, the model doesn’t view relapse as failure, but as an inevitable part of the untidy, non-linear dynamic process of behaviour change.