Chapter 14 Psychology 175.102 Flashcards
Aetiology
Cause, set of causes, or manner of causation of a disease or condition
Health psychology
Is devoted to understanding psychological influences on how people stay healthy, why they become ill and how they respond when they do get ill
Trephination
Involved drilling holes in this skulls of the diseased individual to allow the evil spirits to escape.
Humoural theory of illness
Asserts that disease is caused by an imbalance in the four fluids or humours of the body. Blood, phlegm, black bile and yellow bile.
Cartesian dualism
Contends that the mind and the body a completely separate entities.
Cellular theory of illness
The idea that illness and disease result from abnormalities within individual cells
Biomedical model of health
Takes a reductionist view of illness, reducing disease to biological causes at the level of individual cells.
Psychosomatic medicine
The idea that changes in physiology mediate the relationship between unconscious conflicts and illness
Biopsychosocial model of health
The idea that health and illness stem from a combination of biological, psychological and social factors.
Health belief model
Suggested health behaviours are predicted by four factors: the perceived susceptibility to the health threat, the perceived seriousness of the health threat, the benefits and barriers of undertaking particular health behaviours, and cues to action.
Perceived susceptibility
Refers to a persons perception that he is likely to contract a particular illness.
Optimistic bias
By which they believe that they are far less likely than other people to contract particular illnesses
Perceived seriousness or severity
Refers to an individual’s perception of the impact a particular illness would have on her life
Benefits and barriers of health behaviour
People evaluate whether the benefits to be gained from stopping the behaviour outweigh the costs or barriers associated with termination of the behaviour
Cues to action
Referred to ancillary factors that influence whether or not the person is willing to begin a healthy behaviour or terminate an unhealthy one
Self-efficacy
A person’s belief in her ability to successfully undertake a particular action or behaviour
Protection motivation theory of health
Basically the health belief model plus self-efficacy
Theory of reasoned action
Takes a social cognitive view towards health behaviours, broadly stating that behaviousr stem from behavioural intentions.
Attitudes
Represent the beliefs one has that particular behaviour will produce a particular outcome and ones evaluation of those outcomes
Subjective norms
Reflects someone’s perception of how significant other individuals will view the behaviour and the motivation to comply with the desires of those others.
Theory of planned behaviour
Includes all the components of the theory of reasoned action plus self-efficacy, sometimes referred to as perceived behavioural control
Body mass index (BMI)
The weight in kilograms divided by the height in metres squared: kg/m2
Obesity
Refers to an excessive accumulation of body fat, in excess of 30% in women and 20% in men
Overweight
People identified as being overweight if they have a body mass index between 25% and 30%, depending on gender and age
Set point for weight
An ideal body weight for each individual
Susceptible gene hypothesis
Suggests that certain genes increase the likelihood of, but do not guarantee, the development of a particular trait or characteristics e.g. obesity
Alcoholism
A person is identified as having alcoholism when he or she is physiologically dependent upon alcohol, and, therefore, shows withdrawal symptoms when no alcohol has been consumed.
Problem drinking
Problem drinkers are not physiologically addicted to alcohol, but still have a number of problems stemming from alcohol consumption, including problems with work and family, and health related complications
Self handicapping
The process by which people set themselves up to fail
Spontaneous remission
Quitting drinking or greatly reducing your alcohol intake on your own, without formal method of intervention
Detoxification
The process of drying out from alcohol
Aversion therapy
Introduction of something aversive as a means of discouraging the negative health habit
Stress
Refers to a challenge to the person’s capacity to adapt to inner and outer demands
General adaptation syndrome
A bodily response consisting of three stages: alarm, resistance and exhaustion.
Alarm
Involves the release of adrenaline in the hormones such as cortisol as well as the activation of the sympathetic nervous system
Resistance
The parasympathetic nervous system returns respiration and heartbreak to normal. However blood glucose levels remain high and some stress-related hormones continue to circulate at elevated levels
Exhaustion
Physiological defenses breakdown, resulting in greatly increased vulnerability too serious or even life-threatening disease.
Transactional model of stress
Stress is typically a transaction between the individual and the environment, rather than a property of either the person or the environment alone. Lazarus
Primary appraisal
In a primary appraisal of the situation, the person decides whether the situation is benign, stressful or irrelevant.
Secondary appraisal
In the second stage the person evaluates the options and decides how to respond
Emotional forecasting
Predicting what feelings the situation will produce (primary appraisal) and predicting the likely emotional impact of each potential response (secondary appraisal).
Lazarus’ three types of stress
One. Harm or loss.
Two. Threat
Three. Challenge.
Stressors
Events that lead to stress. Stressors range from the infrequent, such as the death of a parent, to commonplace, such as a demanding job or a noisy neighbour.
Acculturative stress
Refers to the stress people experience in trying to adapt to the new culture
Catastrophes
Stressors of massive proportions. Catastrophe is maybe caused by nature or by humans
Daily hassles
Minor annoyances of everyday life that contribute to stress
Psychoneuroimmunology
Examines the influence of psychological factors on the functioning of the immune system
Immune system
The bodies surveillance and security system, which detects and eliminates disease causing agents and the body such as bacteria and viruses
Antibodies
Protein molecules that attach themselves to foreign invaders and mark them for destruction
Type A behaviour pattern
A personality style categorised by impatience, ambition, competitiveness, hostility and a hard driving approach to life
Type B behaviour pattern
More relaxed, easy-going and less easily angered.
Coping or coping mechanisms
Residents in the face of stress reveals the ways people deal with stressful situations
Problem focused coping
Strategies aimed at changing situation producing stress
Emotion focused coping
Efforts to alter thoughts about the situation, and efforts to later the unpleasant emotional consequences of stress
Low-effort syndrome
The tendency to exert minimal effort to escape stressful social and economic circumstances
