Ch 6: health behaviors Flashcards
Health behavior
any activity people perform to maintain or improve their health (or prevent disease and illness), regardless of perceived health status or whether the behavior is effective
Well behavior
any activity people undertake to maintain or improve current good health and avoid illness (e.g. eating a healthy diet, exercising, getting vaccinated)
Symptom-based behavior
any activity people who are ill undertake to determine the problem and find a remedy (e.g. complaining about symptoms, seeking advice)
Sick-role behavior
any activity people undertake to treat or adjust to a health problem after deciding they are ill and identifying the illness or being diagnosed (e.g. adhering to medical advice, staying home from school/work)
2 health-compromising behaviors that become clinically relevant with severity
poor diet and nutrition, and alcohol consumption
7 risk factors associated with poor physical health and increased mortality
smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol excessively, obesity, physical inactivity, eating between meals, skipping breakfast, sleeping less than 7/8 hours
10 factors most closely associated with death
current smoker, history of divorce, history of alcohol abuse, recent financial difficulties, history of unemployment, history of smoking, lower life satisfaction, never married, history of food stamps, negative affectivity
3 findings on consistency of health habits
(1) health habits are fairly stable but often change over time; (2) particular health behaviors aren’t strongly tied to one another; (3) health behaviors don’t seem to be governed by the same set of attitudes or response tendencies
2 avenues for the ongoing advances in health
efforts to prevent illness and improvements in medical diagnosis and treatment
3 types of efforts to prevent illness
behavioral influence, environmental measures, and preventive medical efforts
3 levels of prevention (of an illness)
primary, secondary, and tertiary
What actions are involved in each level of prevention?
efforts done by oneself (in our well, symptom-based, and sick-role behaviors), one’s social network, and health professionals
Primary prevention
actions taken by the individual or society to prevent the onset of or avoid disease/injury; can begin even before a person is born or conceived
Examples of primary prevention
exercise, wearing a seatbelt, flossing, immunization/vaccination, handwashing, physical distancing, wearing a mask
Secondary prevention
actions taken to identify and treat an illness or injury early with the aim of stopping or reversing the problem
Examples of secondary prevention
medical exams, cancer screening, symptom-based behavior of seeking medical care for pain, sick-role behavior of taking medication, treating the flu or pneumonia
Tertiary prevention
actions taken to contain or slow the lasting and irreversible damage caused by a serious injury or disease, prevent disability or recurrence, and rehabilitate the patient
Examples of tertiary prevention
physical therapy for people with arthritis, taking medication to control pain, providing comfort for people with terminal cancer
Factors within the individual that influence the promotion of wellness
attitudes and perceptions regarding health behaviors (e.g. how appealing or convenient they are), difficulty changing habits and addictions, lack of cognitive resources, low self-efficacy, impact of one’s moods and energy levels
3 kinds of factors that play a role in the promotion of wellness
factors within the individual, interpersonal factors (e.g. family), and community factors (e.g. government and health professionals)
3 types of consequences to health-related behaviors developed through operant conditioning
reinforcement, extinction (if the reinforcement is stopped), punishment
How do people develop health behaviors through classical conditioning?
a stimulus (e.g. cigarette pack) can eventually become a cue for behavior (e.g. smoking) when it elicits a response through association with an unconditioned stimulus (e.g. feeling relaxed after smoking)
When do people tend to model another person’s behavior?
when the model is similar to themselves in terms of sex, age, or race, and is a high-status person
Antecedents
internal or external stimuli that precede and set the occasion for a behavior, which may eventually become habitual
What personality trait is associated with practicing many health behaviors?
conscientiousness
What is the role of emotion in practicing health behaviors?
women who have low conscientiousness and have a close relative with breast cancer are often distressed about developing cancer themselves and are unlikely to get a mammogram; high-stress individuals are more likely to engage in unhealthy behaviors as a form of coping
Unrealistic optimism
the belief that one is at a relatively lower risk of developing an illness that occurs rarely and that hasn’t happened to them; leads people to take less preventive action
Reflexology
a practice that involves massaging specific areas of the feet to treat illnesses
Health belief model
the likelihood that a person will take preventive action or perform some health behavior directly depends on their assessment of threat regarding a health problem and the pros and cons (or benefits and barriers) of taking the action
3 factors that influence people’s perceived threat of a health problem
perceived seriousness of its effects, perceived susceptibility to it, receiving cues to take action
3 barriers to taking preventive action
financial considerations, psychosocial consequences, and physical considerations
2 limitations of the health belief model
(1) doesn’t account for health behaviors that people perform habitually without consideration of threats, benefits, and costs; (2) has no standardized measure for its components like perceived susceptibility and seriousness
Cognitive adaption theory
those who do not fully accept their physiological risk may have better mental health and be better able to cope with risk
Theory of planned behavior
people decide their intention in advance of most voluntary behaviors and intentions are the best predictors of what people will do
3 judgements that determine a person’s intention to perform a behavior
attitude regarding the behavior based on its likely outcome and whether the outcome is rewarding; subjective norm; perceived behavioral control (self-efficacy)
Subjective norm
the appropriateness or acceptability of behavior based on beliefs about others’ opinions and social norms
Self-efficacy
belief that one can execute a course of action or achieve a goal
Limitations of the theory of planned behavior
(1) intention and behavior are not strongly related; (2) the role of people’s prior experience with the behavior is not considered
Transtheoretical model (or states of change model)
people go through stages each associated with different psychosocial characteristics as they adopt health behaviors
3 ways to help people advance through the stages in the transtheoretical model
provide a detailed description on how to carry out the behavioral change, match strategies to the person’s current needs to promote advancement to the next stage, and plan for potential problems
5 stages of chance in the states of change model
precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance
Precontemplation stage
people are not considering changing in the near future
Contemplation stage
people are aware a problem exists and are seriously considering changing to a healthier behavior in the near future but are not yet ready to commit to it
Preparation stage
people are ready to try to change and plan to pursue a behavioral goal soon
Action stage
people make successful and active efforts to change a behavior over a period of time
Maintenance stage
people work to maintain the successful behavioral changes they have achieved and avoid relapse
Motivated reasoning
emotionally-biased reasoning that produces judgements that are most desired rather than those that reflect the evidence (e.g. denial)
False hopes
when people believe that they will succeed at retrying a previously failed health behavior (no rational basis)
Factors that affect high willingness to engage in risky behaviors
positive subjective norms and attitude toward the behavior, previous engagement in the behavior, a favorable image of the type of person who would perform the behavior
Conflict theory
people experience stress due to conflict about what to do when faced with health-related decisions
Cognitive sequence used in dealing with a decisional conflict
an event (either a threat or an opportunity) challenges their current course of action or lifestyle followed by the appraisal of its risk
3 factors that affect people’s coping with decisional conflict
the perceived presence or absence of hope, risk, and adequate time
2 types of coping patterns involving risk, hope, and adequate time
hypervigilance and vigilance
Hypervigilance
when people frantically search for a solution or alternative to their current risky behavior that only brings temporary relief
Vigilance
when people carefully search for better alternatives to their current risky behavior and have the time to make rational choices
4 emotional drivers that are most effective for behavioral change
disgust (desire to avoid and remove contamination), nurture (desire to be happy and thriving), status (desire to have greater access to resources than others), affiliation (desire to fit in)
How does empathic responding affect the uptake of health precautions?
emphatic responding increases engagement in preventive behaviors when perceived threat is low but makes no difference when perceived threat is high
What is emphatic responding?
trying to understand others’ feelings and concerns; helping others by listening to them and doing things for them
Herd immunity
the more people that are immunized for a virus, the more that chains of infection are disrupted, protecting the population at large
Who depends on herd immunity for protection from many diseases?
individuals who are allergic to ingredients in vaccines or are severely immunocompromised
Characteristics of antisocial people
low levels of empathy, socially disruptive or violates the rights of others, high levels of callousness, deceitfulness, and risk-taking (as seen in psychopathy)
5 factors explaining women’s longer life expectancy compared to men
(1) lower physiological reactivity to stress so lower risk of developing cardiovascular diseases; (2) estrogen delays heart disease by reducing blood cholesterol levels and platelet clotting; (3) lower tendency to smoke, use drugs, eat unhealthily, engage in risky driving and sexual activity; (4) higher tendency to consult doctors when ill; (5) lower tendency of having a hazardous work environment
Acculturation
process by which immigrants adopt the health behaviors of their new culture
3 cultural diversity issues for professionals promoting health
biological factors (differences in physiological processes), cognitive and linguistic factors (different beliefs and language barriers), social and emotional factors (differences in stress reactivity and use of social support)
4 sources for health promotion information
mass media, news outlets, internet, and medical settings (health professionals and health agencies)
How do we enhance motivation to follow health promotion advice?
tailored content and message framing
Tailored content
health advice is designed for a specific individual based on their characteristics
Educational appeals
non-tailored advice that focuses on providing general information and assumes that people will be motivated to change as long as they have the proper information
Factors that must be considered in making educational appeals
color and vividness of ad; expertise, likeability, and relatability of messenger; avoidance of jargon and stats; length of message; placement of strong arguments; presentation of both sides; clarity of conclusions; avoidance of extremes
Message framing
whether the health information emphasizes the benefits or costs associated with a behavior or decision
Gain-framed messages
focus on experiencing desirable consequences and/or avoiding negative ones
Loss-framed messages
focus on experiencing undesirable consequences and/or avoiding positive ones
When are gain-framed and loss-framed messages best used?
for motivating behaviors that serve to prevent or recover from illness or injury; for behaviors that occur infrequently and serve to detect a health problem early
Fear appeal
a loss-framed message that assumes arousing fear will lead to change
What makes a fear appeal for persuasive?
when it emphasizes the health problem’s perceived seriousness or consequences, includes a personal testimonial, provides instructions, and boosts one’s self-efficacy before engaging in change
Motivational interviewing
a one-on-one, semi-directive, and client-centered counselling style that helps individuals explore and resolve their ambivalence in changing a behavior; combines the transtheoretical model with CBT methods
2 features of motivational interviewing
decisional balance and personalized feedback
Decisional balance
clients list their reasons for and against changing their behavior so that these can be discussed and weighed
Personalized feedback
clients receive information on their pattern of the problem behavior, comparisons with national norms of the behavior, its risk factors and consequences
Brief alcohol screening and intervention for college students (BASICS)
a harm reduction approach designed to help students make better alcohol-use decisions based on a clear understanding of the risks associated with problem drinking
Goals of the 2 interviews conducted in BASICS
(1) to assess the risk of problem behaviors and obtain commitment to monitor drinking between interviews; (2) to provide personalized feedback (e.g. comparison to norm behavior, advice on how to drink safely)
Examples of strategies for safe drinking
slowing down and spacing drinks, having different types of drinks, drinking for quality vs quantity, enjoying the mild effects of alcohol
Self-management
an approach to changing thought processes on changing health behaviors wherein therapists teach behavioral and cognitive methods to clients so they can apply them themselves
Lapse vs relapse
an instance of backsliding (should be expected in most cases); falling back to one’s original pattern of the undesirable behavior
Abstinence-violation effect
when experiencing a lapse in behavior can decrease one’s self-efficacy in remaining abstinent and precipitate a full relapse
2 main consequences of vaccine hesitancy and anti-vax movement
declining immunization rates and an increasing frequency of outbreaks in viruses like measles and whooping cough
Psychological factors that predict anti-vaccine attitudes
mistrust in health professionals and generally low trust; perceived dangers of vaccines; disgust toward blood and needles; preference for alternative medicine; religiosity/spirituality; conspiratorial thinking; low agreeableness, conscientiousness, sense of purpose, and altruism; high individualism, narcissism, and reactance
Reactance
low tolerance for infringements on personal freedoms
Dunning-Kruger effect
a cognitive bias whereby people with limited knowledge on competence in a given intellectual or social domain greatly overestimate their own knowledge or competence in that domain
Most effective way to change attitudes about vaccines
providing information on disease threats rather than debunking vaccination myths
Backfire effect
a cognitive bias that causes people who encounter evidence that challenges their beliefs to reject that evidence and strengthen support for their original stance
What kinds of anti-smoking ads are most successful?
those that are emotionally evocative and contain personalized stories
Behavioral vs cognitive methods
focus on helping people manage the antecedents and consequences of a behavior; focus on changing people’s thought processes
What is the goal of CBT?
regulation of thoughts, attitudes, beliefs, emotions, and behaviors through personal coping strategies
Cognitive behavioral therapy
evidence-based psychotherapeutic intervention that promotes self-observation and self-monitoring to increase awareness and control of negative thoughts and harmful behaviors
3 CBT methods used for alcohol abuse
identify unhelpful/unrealistic thoughts and beliefs that contribute to the problem behavior; identify triggers that cause you to drink; engage in more realistic/helpful thoughts
Social engineering
changing the social environment to better support health behaviors
Examples of social engineering
nutritional guidelines, seatbelt laws and road safety, school vaccination programs, smoking prohibitions, taxation of alcohol and sugary drinks, vaccine mandate
