Health Beliefs and Behaviour

Question 1

Define health behaviour.

Answer 1

Any activity undertaken by an individual believing himself to be healthy, for the purpose of preventing disease or detecting it at an asymptomatic stage

Question 2

Describe the effect of education on health behaviour.

Answer 2

Effective at changing discrete health behaviours e.g. getting a child vaccinated

Not effective on its own for more complex health behaviours

Needs to be combined with individualised support/ tailored to an audience, as well as social + psychological support

Question 3

Describe a study that showed the effect of education on health behaviour.

Answer 3

Nutbeam study on the effect of smoking education in schools

Smoking education showed that it increased knowledge but had no effect on behaviour (smoking)

Question 4

What is the Expectancy-Value model?

Answer 4

Potential for behaviour to occur is to do with:

EXPECTANCY that the behaviour will lead to a particular outcome

VALUE of that outcome

Question 5

Describe the results of an experiment that looked into the effect of fear arousal on health behaviours.

Answer 5

Participants exposed to either low, moderate or high fear with regards to dental health Result: the higher the level of fear, the lower the change in behaviour

Question 6

What is self-efficacy?

Answer 6

Belief that one can execute the behaviour required to produce the outcome

Question 7

What are the four factors influencing self-efficacy?

Answer 7

Mastery experience (practice with instructor)

Social learning (observing)

Verbal persuasion + encouragement

Physiological arousal (accepting feelings of fight or flight response as normal)

Question 8

Label the health beliefs model

Answer 8

Health Belief model

Question 9

Label the theory of planned behaviour model.

Answer 9

Planned behaviour model

Question 10

What are the stages of the transtheoretical model?

Answer 10

Precontemplation (not recognising need for change)

Contemplation (recognises problem)

Preparation

Action (initiating change)

Maintenance

Relapse

Question 11

List 3 limitations of reinforcement programmes

Answer 11

Lack of generalisation

Poor maintenance (rapid extinction once reinforcer disappears)

Impractical + expensive

Question 12

What is outcome efficacy?

Answer 12

Individuals expectation that the behaviour will lead to a particular outcome