Exam- Readings & Practice Questions

Question 1

List the resources/assistance each of the social support types provide

Answer 1

Esteem/Appraisal support- affirmation, social comparison

Emotional support-affection, concern. listening, venting emotions.

Information support-advice, suggestions, information Instrumental/tangible support-money, labour, time, practical help

Question 2

Stress and coping

Define: Avoidance coping

Answer 2

The person acknowledges the problem but tries not to think about it.

Question 3

Stress and coping

Coping strategies are divided into what 2 groups?

Answer 3

Problem-focused

Emotion-focused

Question 4

Stress and Coping

Give examples: Problem-focused and Emotion-focused Coping strategies

Answer 4

○ Problem Focused Looking up a medical problem on the internet Resolving to deal with a large issue one step at a time Asking friends for practical help

○ Emotion-Focused Tidying up your desk instead of writing an essay (distraction) Trying to reappraise the problem in a positive light (reframing) Telling friends about the problem and asking for reassurance (social support)

Question 5

In what 3 ways is Stress conceptualised?

Answer 5

Stimulus

Response

Reaction

Question 6

Health Inequalities

Define: Social Causation Model

Answer 6

suggests that low SES ‘causes’ health problems; that is, there is something about occupying a low socioeconomic group that adversely influences the health of individuals.

Question 7

Health Inequalities

Define: Social Drift Model

Answer 7

suggests that when an individual develops a health problem, they may be unable to maintain a job or the levels of overtime required to maintain their standard of living.

• They therefore drift down the socioeconomic scale; that is, health problems ‘cause’ low SES

Question 8

Health Inequalities

What factors influence Health Inequalities?

Answer 8

• Differences in health behaviours
• Access to healthcare
• Environmental factors
• Psychosocial factors
• Socioeconomic status

Question 9

Explain Primary, Secondary and Tertiary stress management interventions

Answer 9

○ Primary interventions- change environmental conditions that produce stress

○ Secondary interventions- help individuals to use more effective stress management behaviours, such as exercise

○ Tertiary interventions- such as counselling, are designed for people who have been impaired by clinical conditions such as anxiety

Question 10

Indigenous Australians suffer an overall burden of disease how many times the total of the Australian population

Answer 10

2.5 times the total of the Australian population

Question 11

When may avoidant coping be beneficial to Qol?

Answer 11

In situations where the person cannot exert control.

Question 12

Stress and Coping

The appraisal of an event as stressful depends on the interaction of what 2 groups of factors

Answer 12

• Person related: include all of a persons psychological and social resources. E.g. intelligence, finances, skills and personality characteristics
• Situation related: influencing the amount of stress and the types of demands for adjustment people face include ambiguity, desirability and controlability

Question 13

Stress and coping

Define: Escapist

Answer 13

the person runs away from the problem, rather than trying to rectify it.

• is a form of avoidance coping

Question 14

Review: the Health Belief Model

Answer 14

Question 15

Review: Protection Motivation Theory

Answer 15

Question 16

There are 2 theories which may explain the benefits of Social Support. What are they?

Answer 16

Direct Effects hypothesis

Buffering hypothesis

Question 17

List all 10 Cognitive Distortions and understand each

Answer 17

All or Nothing Thinking: You view a situation in strictly black and white terms without seeing the shades of grey.
—Selective Abstraction: You focus in on one negative detail of the situation, rather than looking at the whole picture.
—Overgeneralisation: You make a sweeping negative conclusion that goes way beyond the present situation.
—Fortune Telling: You predict the future (or recent past) negatively, usually catastrophising with little or no basis to do so.
—Magnifying/Minimising: You make the situation out to much worse than it is and/ or minimise your strengths and assets.
—Labelling: You put a fixed, overgeneralised label on yourself or others based on a few behaviours.
—Emotional Reasoning: This is where you think something is true because you believe it so strongly.
Mind Reading: You believe that you know what other’s are thinking and how they view a situation.
—Personalisation: You believe others are behaving the way they are because of something you did.
—Should’s and Shouldn’ts: You have a precise, fixed notion about how you or others should behave (or should have behaved).

Question 18

What are the 4 Psychological determinants of health?

Answer 18

Heredity

Personality

Behaviour

Perceptions

?

Question 19

What is the primary goals of psychological interventions in medical patients

Answer 19

improve disease management AND

reduce the risk of future disease or disease progression

?

Question 20

What evidence is there to suggest that biological models of pain may not explain all types of pain?

Answer 20

Psychological influences on pain

?