Chapter 17 Health Psychology

Question 1

is a subfield of psychology that emphasizes psychology’s role in establishing and maintaining health and preventing and treating illness.

Answer 1

Health psychology

Question 2

is an interdisciplinary field that focuses on developing and integrating behavioral and biomedical knowledge to promote health and reduce illness.

Answer 2

Behavioral medicine

Question 3

Health psychology and behavioral medicine both inform two related fields:

Answer 3

1. Health promotion
2. Public health

Question 4

involves helping people change their lifestyle to optimize health and assisting them in achieving balance in physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and
intellectual health and wellness.

Answer 4

Health promotion

Question 5

is concerned with studying health and disease in large populations to guide policymakers.

Answer 5

Public health

Question 6

applies well to health psychology because health psychology integrates biological, psychological, and social factors in health.

Answer 6

The Biopsychosocial Model

Question 7

Most health problems can be viewed as involving the 3 areas of _________,_____________, and ______ factors so that to treat a problem we consider all
3 areas.

Answer 7

biological, psychological, and social

Question 8

there is an interconnectedness between
mind and body. The mind may influence health and the body may influence the mind as well. One of health psychology’s missions is to help individuals identify and
implement ways they can effectively change their behaviors for the better.

Answer 8

The Relationship between Mind and Body

Question 9

practices that have an impact on physical well-being – including adopting a healthy approach to stress, exercising, eating right, brushing one’s teeth, performing breast and testicular exams, not smoking, drinking in moderation (or not at all), and practicing safe sex.

Answer 9

Health behaviors

Question 10

is a theoretical model describing a 5-step process by
which individuals give up bad habits and adopt healthier lifestyles.

Answer 10

stages of change mode

Question 11

The idea here is that change occurs in progressive steps, each characterized by particular issues and
challenges. What are the 5 stages:

Answer 11

Stage 1 – Precontemplation
Stage 2 – Contemplation
Stage 3 – Preparation/Determination
Stage 4 – Action/Willpower
Stage 5 – Maintenance

Question 12

Individuals are not yet ready to think about changing and may not be aware that they have a problem that needs to be changed. It is common for people in this phase to deny that their current pattern of behavior is a problem. The individual might defend such behaviors, claiming that “I don’t drink/smoke/eat that much.”

Answer 12

Stage 1 – Precontemplation

Question 13

Individuals acknowledge that they have a problem but may not yet be ready to commit to change. They might engage in a reevaluation of themselves and the place of this behavior in their life. They understandably may have mixed feelings about giving up a bad habit. In this phase, individuals may begin to separate themselves, mentally, from the typical overeater or smoker and start to define themselves as someone who is ready to change.

Answer 13

Stage 2 – Contemplation

Question 14

Individuals are preparing to take action. At this point, self-belief and especially beliefs about one’s ability to “see it through” are very important. A key consideration in this stage is whether individuals truly feel they are ready to change

Answer 14

Stage 3 – Preparation/Determination

Question 15

Individuals commit to making a behavioral change and enact a plan. An important challenge at this stage is to find ways to support the new, healthy behavior pattern.

Answer 15

Stage 4 – Action/Willpower

Question 16

Individuals are successful in continuing their behavior change over time. Individuals successfully avoid temptation and consistently pursue healthy behaviors. They may become skilled at anticipating tempting situations and avoid them or actively prepare for them.

Answer 16

Stage 5 – Maintenance

Question 17

means that these individuals are no longer consciously engaged in maintaining their healthy lifestyle; rather the lifestyle has become a part of who they are.

Answer 17

Transcendence

Question 18

one challenge during the maintenance stage is to avoid relapse, a return to the former unhealthy patterns.

Answer 18

Relapse

Question 19

is a common aspect of change. That is, for
most people, real change takes many attempts. The majority of people who eventually do change do not succeed on the first try.

Answer 19

Relapse