Chapter 4 - Behavioral Change and Health Psychology

Question 1

What is the health belief model?

Answer 1

a model that predicts that people will engage in a health behavior based on the perceived threat they feel regarding a health problem and the pros and cons of adopting the behavior; perceived threat is influenced by:

• perceived seriousness
• perceived susceptibility
• cues to action

Question 2

What are the six sources of self-efficacy information?

Answer 2

1) past performance experience
2) vicarious experience
3) verbal persuasion
4) physiological state
5) emotional state and mood appraisals
6) imaginal experiences

Question 3

What is the transtheoretical model of behavioral change (TTM)? (also called stage of change model)

Answer 3

a theory of behavior that examines one’s readiness to change and identifies 5 stages of change?

Question 4

What are the 4 components of TTM?

Answer 4

1) stages of change
2) processes of change
3) self-efficacy
4) decisional balance

Question 5

What are the 5 stages of change in TTM?

Answer 5

1) precontemplation
2) contemplation
3) preparation
4) action
5) maintenance

Question 6

precontemplation

Answer 6

• sedentary
• don’t see relevance of activity
• may discount being active

goal: to make inactivity a relevant issue and to start thinking about being active

Question 7

contemplation

Answer 7

• still sedentary
• considering activity as important
• still not ready to commit

goal: to get involved in some type of activity

Question 8

preparation

Answer 8

• some sporadic physical activity
• prepared to a adopt a program

goal: regular physical activity participation

Question 9

action

Answer 9

• doing regular physical activity (for less than 6 months)

goal: maintain regular physical activity

Question 10

maintenance

Answer 10

• doing regular physical activity (for more than 6 months)

goal: prevent relapse and maintained continued activity

Question 11

Decisional Balance

Answer 11

refers to the # of pros and cons about adopting and/or maintaining an activity program; people in the early stages of TTM will perceive more cons

Question 12

Operant Conditioning

Answer 12

the process by which behaviors are influenced by their consequences and that may lead to adopting some behaviors and avoiding others

antecedents–> behaviors–> consequences

Question 13

antecedents

Answer 13

stimuli that precede a behavior and often signal the likely consequences of the behavior

• can be manipulated
• antecedent influence on behavior is called stimulus control

Question 14

consequences

Answer 14

what happens when the behavior is executed particularly when there is the presentation, occurrence, or removal of a positive or negative stimuli

Question 15

positive reinforcement

Answer 15

presentation of a positive stimulus that increases the likelihood that the behavior will reoccur in the future

Question 16

negative reinforcement

Answer 16

removal or avoidance of aversive stimuli following undesirable behavior increases the chances the behavior will reoccur (bad!)

Question 17

stimulus control

Answer 17

a means to break the connection between events or other stimuli and a behavior; in behavioral science sometimes called “cue extinction”

Question 18

Extinction

Answer 18

the removal of a positive stimulus that has in the past followed a behavior

Question 19

punishment

Answer 19

causes a decrease in the likelihood of a behavior reoccurring and consists of averse stimulus following an undesirable behavior

Question 20

shaping

Answer 20

the process of using reinforcements to gradually achieve a target behavior

• starts with a skill the client is currently capable of doing
• skill demands are raised, reinforcement is given as more is accomplish

Question 21

What are the three major behavior change strategies?

Answer 21

1) stimulus control
2) written agreements and behavioral contracts
3) cognitive behavioral techniques

Question 22

What are some cognitive behavioral techniques?

Answer 22

• goal setting
• feedback
• decision making
• self monitoring