Health, stress & coping

Question 1

Health Psychology

Answer 1

• understand how people stay healthy, why they become ill and how they respond to it
• health-compromising and promoting behaviours

Question 2

Health belief model

Answer 2

• perceived susceptibility (can I get it?)
• perceived severity (is it a serious condition?)
• benefits & barriers to action (evaluation of cost/benefit)
• cues to action (factors that influence behaviour, eg social cues)
• self-efficacy (confidence in ability to take action)

Question 3

Theory of reasoned action

Answer 3

• attitude towards behaviour (outcome beliefs and evaluation of outcomes)
• subjective norm (social influence, and our want to follow this or not)

→ forms our intention → behaviour

Question 4

Theory of planned behaviour

Answer 4

attitudes + subjective norm + perceived behavioural control (can I do it?)

Question 5

Transtheoretical Model

Answer 5

• precontemplation (unaware)
• contemplation (aware, considering action)
• preparation (prep, small changes)
• action
• maintenance

Question 6

Barriers to health promotion

Answer 6

• individual (short-term enjoyable, unrealistic optimism, motivated ignorance)
• family (modelling)
• health system barriers (insurance, doctor relationship), community
• cultural and ethnic barriers (social norms)

Question 7

Stress and stress appraisal

Answer 7

1. challenge to one’s capacity to adapt to inner & outer demands, threaten wellbeing and coping abilities
2. Appraisal: primary (is it stressful or irrelevant?) and secondary (how do I respond) appraisal

Question 8

Lazarus 3 types of stress and sources of stress

Answer 8

Lazarus’ 3 types: harm or loss, threat, challenge

sources: change/life events, catastrophes, daily hassels, acculturative stress

Question 9

General Adaptation Syndrome

Answer 9

• alarm (recognition of threat, heightened physiological arousal)
• resistance (stress continues, physiological changes stabilizes with coping)
• exhaustion (limited resources, physiological arousal decreases, resistance reduces, may collapse)

Question 10

Coping

Answer 10

efforts to master, reduce or tolerate demands created by stress

• Problem-focused solving (deal with stressor, change situation, resolve, remove)
• Emotion Focused Coping (alter thoughts or unpleasant emotional consequences of stress)

Question 11

Type A and B personality

Answer 11

Type A personality
competitive, impatient, anger and hostility, linked to heart disease

Type B personality
relaxed, patient, easy-going

Question 12

Social support

Answer 12

• buffering hypothesis
• direct effects hypothesis

→ enhanced immune functioning, physiological health and mortality