HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY Flashcards
what is health psychology?
understanding psychological influences on how people stay healthy, why they become ill and how they respond when they do get ill.
what is health behaviour?
any activity people perform to maintain or improve their health, regardless of their perceived health status or whether the behaviour actually achieves that goal.
what are the 2 types of health behaviours?
health impairing and health protective behaviour
what is the attribution theory?
the process by which individuals explain the causes of behavior and events as being either external or internal
what is a fundamental attribution error?
when we blame the wrong aspect (e.g. we don’t think someone’s nice as a person when they are actually having a bad day). People tend to place more emphasis on internal explanations rather than considering the circumstances
what is locus of control?
the degree to which people believe that they, as opposed to external forces, have control over the outcome of events in their lives.
what is self-efficacy?
a person’s belief in his or her ability to succeed in a particular situation.
how can we improve self-efficacy?
using role models and mastery through practice/rehearsals
describe the health belief model?
If we think we are susceptible to something and it’s serious then we think it’s a threat. Our age, sex, ethnicity, personality, socioeconomics and education can impact this perceived threat. This will also impact our perception on whether we think there are barriers and benefits to behavioural change- this affects the likelihood of behavioural change. Cues to action also impact our perception (e.g. symptoms, education, media) and these impact the likelihood of behavioural change.
what factors does the health belief model suggest make people more likely to change their health behaviour?
People are more likely to adhere when they:
view their physical problem as severe
perceive themselves to be susceptible if they fail to adhere
•consider the likelihood of treatment to be effective as high
•identify few barriers to adherence
•experience few rewards for failing to adhere
•encounter environmental cue supporting the decision to adhere
•believe that they can change
what is the theory of planned behaviour?
Attitudes, social norms and our perceived behavioural control impact whether we intend to make a change to our behaviour
describe the stages to the transtheoretical model of change?
1.Precontemplative
Being told to give up smoking but not seeing the problem with carrying on
2.Contemplative
When the individual begins weighing up the pros and cons of changing smoking behaviours
3.Determinism
Deciding to carry on as before or to change.
4.Active change
Putting the decision into practice.
5.Maintenance
When they are actively maintaining the change
6.Relapse
Returning to previous behaviour
what factors influence behaviour change?
decisional balance
self-efficacy
process of change
temptation
what is the same about all 3 theories?
they all involve self-efficacy
