Chapter One: What Is Health Psychology?

Question 1

Def: Health Psych

Answer 1

Health psych: studies the psychological influences on ppl: how we stay healthy, why we can become ill, & how we respond when we get sick.

Question 2

Def: health

Answer 2

Health: refers to the complete state of our physical, mental, spiritual, & social well being.

Question 3

Def: wellness

Answer 3

Wellness refers to the optimum state of our health.

Question 4

Health psychologists focuse on health ____________ & maintenance, prevention & treatments of illnesses. Etiology (causes or origins) of health, illness, & dysfunction.
Focuses on ways to ________ our healthcare system & the formation of health policy.

Answer 4

promotion, improve

Question 5

The first beliefs of diseases came from the belief that diseases are associated with _______________________ entering the human body.

Answer 5

evil spirits

Question 6

Def: Humoral theory of illness

Answer 6

Humoral theory of illness: diseases result when the 4 humors or circulating fluids of the body are out of whack.

Question 7

4 humors & personality traits associated with each:

Answer 7

Blood: passionate temperament
Black bile: sadness
Yellow bile: angry disposition
Phlegm: laid-back approach to life

Question 8

Disease in the middle ages was believed to come from a result of a _________ delivered by the _____.

Answer 8

punishment, Gods

Question 9

In the _____________ era, technical bases of medicine started to be understood.
Practice was dependent on lab findings & looked at bodily _________.
Still occurs today.

Answer 9

Renaissance, factors

Question 10

Diagnosis: based on__________________________________

Answer 10

organic & cellular pathology.

Question 11

Biomedical Model: Why is it ill-suited to Understand illness?

Answer 11

Reduces illness to low-level processes like disordered cells & chemical imbalances.
Fails to recognize the social & psych processes as powerful influences over our bodily estates, it assumes a mind-body dualism.
Emphasizes illness over health rather than focusing on behaviors that promote health.
The Biomedical Model can’t address many puzzles that face practitioners. Ex: if 6 ppl are exposed to a flu virus, do only 3 develop the flu?

Question 12

Def: conversion Hysteria

Answer 12

Specific unconscious conflicts produce physical disturbances symbolizing repressed psychological conflicts.
Founded by Freud
Gave rise to the field of psychosomatic medicine

Question 13

Specific illnesses are produced by one’s _________________.

Answer 13

internal conflicts

Question 14

______________________ was perpetuated in the work of Dunbar & Alexander. ________ patterns of personality to specific illnesses of psychosomatic medicine.

Answer 14

Psychosomatic Medicine, Linked

Question 15

Why was Psychosomatic medicine controversial?

Answer 15

conflict or personality type isn’t sufficient to produce an illness.

Question 16

Def: Biopsychosocial Model

Answer 16

Health & illness are consequences of the interplay of biological, psychological, & social factors.

Question 17

Pros to the Biopsychosocial Model

Answer 17

Maintains that the macrolevel & microlevel processes continually interact to influence health & illness.
Emphasizes both health & illness
Processes of diagnosis can benefit from understanding the interacting role of biological, psychological, & social factors.
Significance of the relationship between patient & practitioner is made very clear.
This will improve:
Patient’s use of services
Efficacy of treatment
Rapidity with which illness is

Question 18

Why were nightmare deaths important to check out?

Answer 18

Purpose: to see how completely the mind & body are intertwined in our health.

Question 19

Why were Nightmare Deaths looked into?

Answer 19

Sudden nocturnal deaths among male refugees from SE Asia after the ‘Nam War
Occurred within the first few hours of sleep.
Autopsies revealed no cause of death

Question 20

Findings on Nightmare Deaths

Answer 20

Reasons:
Genetic susceptibility
Victims were overwhelmed by:
Cultural diffs
Language barriers
Difficulties finding satisfactory jobs
Immediate trigger was provided by:
Family argument
Violent tv
Scary dreams

Question 21

Examples of Acute disorders

Answer 21

Tuberculosis, influenza, & other diseases that are infectious

Question 22

Examples of Chronic Illnesses

Answer 22

heart disease, cancer, & respiratory disease

Question 23

Def: theory (Health Psych)

Answer 23

Refers to a set of analytic statements that explain a set of phenomena

Question 24

Pros of theories

Answer 24

Provides guidelines for how to do research & interventions
Generates specific predictions that can be tested & modified
Helps to find new evidence for unexplained data.

Question 25

Def: experiment (health Psych)

Answer 25

Refers to 2(+) differing conditions are created to which ppl are assigned randomly, & theri reaction are measured.

Question 26

Def: randomized clinical trials

Answer 26

conducted evaluate effectiveness of treatments or interventions over time.

Question 27

Def: Evidence based medicine

Answer 27

medical interventions go thru rigorous testing & evaluation for their benefits before they become the standard of care

Question 28

Def: correlational research

Answer 28

measures whether changes in one variable corresponds with changes in another Con: diff to determine the direction of causality unambiguously Pros: Over experiments are more adaptable

Question 29

Def: perspective research

Answer 29

Looks forward in time to see how: Groups of ppl can change Relationships between 2 variables change over time Prospective research is conducted to understand the risk factors that relate to health conditions

Question 30

Def: longitudinal research

Answer 30

the same group of ppl being observed at multiple points in time.

Question 31

Def: retrospective experimental design

Answer 31

a experimental design that looks backwards in time in attempts to reconstruct the conditions that led to current citations. Retrospective designs were critical in identifying the risk factors that led to the development of AIDS.

Question 32

Def: Epidemiology

Answer 32

study of the frequency, distribution, & causes of infectious & noninfectious diseases in a population. Look at the morbidity and mortality rates as well.

Question 33

Def: morbidity rate

Answer 33

of cases of a disease that exist at a given point in time

Question 34

Def: mortality rate

Answer 34

of deaths due to a specific cause.

Question 35

Methodological tools include

Answer 35

Functional magnetic resonance imaging or MRI: glimpses into the brain & has helped improve the knowledge of the autonomic, neuroendocrine, & immune systems. Mobile & Wireless technologies: Ecological momentary interventions or EMI Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring devices.

Question 36

Def: Meta-analysis

Answer 36

Combines results from diff studies to identify how strong the evidence is for a specific research finding.

Question 37

What’s Health Psychology Training for?

Answer 37

Health care practitioners Social work Occupational therapy Dietetics Psychical therapy Public health Academic research Private practice Management of health care Treatment settings Occupational health settings.