Common psychological health concepts

Question 1

Locus of control

Answer 1

“Degree to which people perceive themselves to be in control of a situation”
Can be either internal vs external:
Internal- belief you are in control of events happening to you
External- belief that events are uncontrollable

Question 2

Health locus of control

Answer 2

After time, the concept of locus control was applied to health.
Outlines three independent dimensions:
- Internal= beliefs linked to high health protective behaviours
- External= considering external forces (luck, fate or chance) determine health
- Powerful others= determined by the actions of others i.e., healthcare professionals.

Question 3

Learned helplessness=

Answer 3

In health care for some people it doesn’t take long to feel nothing they do will help and link that to all areas of their health. So:
- Perceived lack of control
- generalised helpless behaviour in response to failure

Question 4

Self efficacy=

Answer 4

A belief that one has the capabilities to execute the courses of actions required to manage prospective situations.
Bandura (1989) identified four sources of information upon which people base their judgements of self-efficacy:
1) performance mastery experiences
2) vicarious experiences for judging
capabilities in comparison with performance of others
3) verbal persuasion and allied types of social influences that one possesses certain capabilities
4) physiological states from which people partly judge how capable they are, such as strength and vulnerability.
Self-efficacy has shown to be important in the delivery of healthcare e.g., is important in rehabilitation process- is a predictor of behaviour change and maintenance such as smoking cessation.