Chapter 1: Overview

Question 1

Adoption Studies

Answer 1

Research in compare traits of adopted children with those of both natural and adoptive parents.

Question 2

Behavioural Medicine

Answer 2

An interdisciplinary field that studies the relationships between behaviour and health.

Question 3

Behavioural Methods

Answer 3

A behavioural modification technique that use mainly operant and classical conditioning principles to change behaviour.

Question 4

Biomedical Model

Answer 4

The view that illness results from physical causes such as infection or injury; psychosocial processes are not viewed as causal factors

Question 5

Biopsychosocial Model

Answer 5

The view that health and illness involve the interplay of biological, psychological, and social factors in people’s lives.

Question 6

Chronic Diseases

Answer 6

Illnesses that persist and generally get worse over a long period of time

Question 7

Cognitive Methods

Answer 7

A behavioral modification technique that focus on changing people’s feelings and thought processes.

Question 8

Correlational Studies

Answer 8

Nonexperimental research conducted to determine the degree and direction of relationship between variables

Question 9

Correlation Coefficient

Answer 9

A statistic that reflects the degree and direction of relationship between two variables; it can range from +1.00, through .00, to −1.00.

Question 10

Cross Sectional Approach

Answer 10

Method of studying developmental trends by observing different groups of subjects of different ages within a relatively short period of time

Question 11

Double Blind

Answer 11

An experimental procedure whereby neither the subject nor the researcher knows which research treatment the subject is receiving.

Question 12

Epidemic

Answer 12

The situation in which the occurrence of a health problem has increased rapidly.

Question 13

Epigenetics

Answer 13

The process in which chemical structures within or around DNA govern gene actions.

Question 14

Experiment

Answer 14

A controlled study in which variables are manipulated and observed to assess cause‐effect relationships

Question 15

Health

Answer 15

A positive state of physical, mental, and social well‐being that changes in degree over time

Question 16

Health Disparities

Answer 16

inequalities in health or health care between groups.

Question 17

Health Psychology

Answer 17

A field of psychology introduced in the late 1970s to examine the causes of illnesses and to study ways to promote and maintain health, prevent and treat illness, and improve the health care system.

Question 18

Illness/Wellness Continuum

Answer 18

A model that describes health and sickness as overlapping concepts that vary in degree, rather than being separate categories.

Question 19

Incidence

Answer 19

The number of new cases reported during a given period of time, such as the previous year.

Question 20

Infectious Diseases

Answer 20

Illnesses caused by the body being invaded by micro‐organisms such as bacteria or viruses.

Question 21

Longitudinal Approach

Answer 21

Method of studying developmental changes in the same subjects by making repeated observations over a long period of time.

Question 22

Mind/Body Problem

Answer 22

Whether or not the mind and body function separately.

Question 23

Morbidity

Answer 23

The condition of illness, injury, or disability.

Question 24

Mortality

Answer 24

Death, usually with reference to large populations.

Question 25

Pandemic

Answer 25

An outbreak of infectious disease that has increased to international or worldwide proportions.

Question 26

Personality

Answer 26

Cognitive, affective, or behavioural predispositions of people in different situations and over time.

Question 27

Placebo

Answer 27

An inactive substance or procedure that may cause a change in an individual’s behaviour or health.

Question 28

Prevalence

Answer 28

The total number of cases existing at a given moment in time.

Question 29

Prospective Approach

Answer 29

A research strategy whereby characteristics of subjects are measured and later examined for their relationships to future conditions, such as health problems.

Question 30

Psychosomatic Medicine

Answer 30

A field introduced in the 1930s to study the relationships between people’s symptoms of illness and their emotions.

Question 31

Quasi-Experimental Studies

Answer 31

Nonexperimental research in which subjects are categorized or separated into two or more groups based on existing characteristics and then compared regarding other variables.

Question 32

Retrospective Approach

Answer 32

A research strategy whereby the histories of subjects are examined for their relationships to recent conditions, such as health problems.

Question 33

Risk Factors

Answer 33

Characteristics or conditions that occur more often among individuals who develop particular diseases or injuries than among those who do not.

Question 34

Sociocultural

Answer 34

Relating to or involving social and cultural features or processes.

Question 35

System

Answer 35

A continuously changing entity that consists of constantly interrelated components.

Question 36

Theory

Answer 36

A tentative explanation of phenomena.

Question 37

Twin Studies

Answer 37

Research to assess the influence of heredity in determining a characteristic by focusing on differences between identical and fraternal twins

Question 38

Variable

Answer 38

A measurable characteristic of people, objects, or events that may change in quantity or quality.