Behaviour Explanation Flashcards
What is the behavioral explanation for health inequalities?
What have you been doing? What are your individual choices? You’ve been drinking/eating/smoking too much or not exercising enough etc.
Who does the behavioral explanation blame?
Freely pursuing health, experts tell us how to be healthy, advertisers picture appropriate actions and fulfillments and entrepreneurs develop market for health e.g. personal trainers, nutritionists, life coaches, individuals must make right choices for themselves and encourages consumption of healthy products
BLAMES THE VICTIM- you need to make the right choices for yourself.
These ‘choices’ still reflect social divisions based on: Income/Social economic status/Education.
What is the issue with hegemonically masculine behavior?
Reading: (Sointu, 2011)
Women are more accepting of alternative medicine.
Behaviour in a stereotypically masculine way, including physical risk-taking and denying one’s embodied and emotional needs, hinders health.
What often results from hegemonically masculine behavior?
Reading: (Seidler, 2007)
A way of concealing inner emotional turmoil from others.
Vulnerabilities are often hidden as men can feel they should somehow be able to handle their own emotions as not to be more shamed.
Many negative health behaviours are more prevalent among socially disadvantaged groups.
Reading: (JRF, 2014)
Healthy behaviours: Cost of healthy eating, gyms and sports clubs.
Coping mechanisms: Use of unhealthy behaviours as a diversion from daily difficulties (food, drink, drugs).
Interpersonal behaviours: crime, violence, homicide, suicide/self-harm
Low income and negative behaviours
Adler and Stewart, 2010
Individuals with low incomes may be more likely to adopt behaviours with a negative impact on health, such as smoking.
Why do more people of a low income smoke?
(Jarvis and Wardle, 2006).
This may be partly because as children they are more likely to be exposed to family and other social contacts who smoke, and as there are higher smoking rates among adults with low income, it can be more acceptable to smoke.
The logic of addiction suggests that to give up smoking requires enduring withdrawal and craving, which may be far harder to resist when experiencing the stresses associated with low income.
What does the behavioural explanation give the impression of?
All of us are totally rational consumers that have the ability to make the correct decisions about ourselves/loved ones; yet in reality this isn’t really the case.
According to (Rose, 1999), what are individuals assumed to want? And how is this encouraged?
The assumption that they want to be healthy, and enjoined to freely seek out the ways of living most likely to promote their own health.
Experts instruct us as to how to be healthy, advertisers picture the appropriate actions and fulfilments and entrepreneurs develop this market for health. Individuals are now offered an identity as consumers’ (Rose, 1999)
According to (Stacey, 1997) contemporary health cultures encourage what?
Consumption (of health food, of alternative treatments and so on) as a means of ‘finding yourself’
Women are more accepting of alternative medicine.
Behaviour in a stereotypically masculine way, including physical risk-taking and denying one’s embodied and emotional needs, hinders health.
(Sointu, 2011)
A way of concealing inner emotional turmoil from others.
Vulnerabilities are often hidden as men can feel they should somehow be able to handle their own emotions as not to be more shamed.
(Seidler, 2007)
Healthy behaviours: Cost of healthy eating, gyms and sports clubs.
Coping mechanisms: Use of unhealthy behaviours as a diversion from daily difficulties (food, drink, drugs).
Interpersonal behaviours: crime, violence, homicide, suicide/self-harm
(JRF, 2014)
Individuals with low incomes may be more likely to adopt behaviours with a negative impact on health, such as smoking.
(Adler and Stewart, 2010)
This may be partly because as children they are more likely to be exposed to family and other social contacts who smoke, and as there are higher smoking rates among adults with low income, it can be more acceptable to smoke.
The logic of addiction suggests that to give up smoking requires enduring withdrawal and craving, which may be far harder to resist when experiencing the stresses associated with low income.
(Jarvis and Wardle, 2006).
