Factors around illness Flashcards
What are the 3 major stages of illness behavior
Recognition
Seeking treatment
Adhering to treatment
what is individual differences in symptom recognition due to
Different levels of bodily awareness
Hypochondriacs
Worried that normal bodily symptoms are indicators of illness. 4 – 5% of the population
Diagnosis with hypochondriac
requires psychological assessment.
Review of health history
sometimes prescribed a placebo.
Neuroticism
Characterized by negative emotions, self-consciousness, and a concern with bodily functions
__________ may exaggerate symptoms or may be more attentive to real symptoms
NEUROTICISM may exaggerate symptoms or may be more attentive to real symptoms
________ emotions cause someone to focus on _______ symptoms.
NEGATIVE emotions cause someone to focus on NEGATIVE symptoms.
What are some individual differences effecting health seeking behavior
Confirmation bias
Attribution or misattribution
Perceptions of pain – pain threshold
Cultural differences in health seeking behavior
-Experience and reporting of symptoms (some cultures encourage the expression of pain.
-Cultural variations in emotional response
-eg. NA women report more menopausal symptoms than Japanese women
Diet? Lifestyle? Interpret the meaning of menopause?
Institutional factors of health seeking behavior
-Boring situation – more attentive to symptoms
-Less busy – more likely to recognize a symptom
-Medical students’ disease. (tend to self diagnose because of similar symptoms)
-Mood (Positive mood–healthy,
Bad mood–report more symptoms)
Individual differences in health seeking behavior based on interpretation of symptoms
PRIOR EXPERIENCE
EXPECTATIONS
SERIOUSNESS OF SYMPTOMS
describe the effects of prior experiences with symptoms
Meaning is affected by history with symptom. – people with prior experience with an illness may amplify the symptoms the next time they experience it.
Highly prevalent disorders are seen as less serious than rare ones.
describe the effects of expectations regarding symptoms
People may ignore symptoms they are not expecting and amplify symptoms they do
seriousness of symptoms can effect the interpretation of the symptom how
- Symptoms affecting highly valued parts of the body are usually interpreted as more serious and as more likely to require attention
- Perceived to have a profound impact on one’s life (hand, throat)
- If a symptom causes pain, it will lead a person to seek treatment more promptly that if it does not cause pain
how are illness representation schema acquired
- experience, and the experience of others
- Can be underdeveloped, inaccurate, or incomplete
