Introduction to Health Psychology

Question 1

What does the root word of health mean and what does it suggest?

Answer 1

Wholeness - suggests a broad view of health includes both mental and physical aspects

Question 2

What must be considered when defining health?

Answer 2

The word health can have very different meanings depending on the individual, history, culture or social class

Question 3

What were the core beliefs about health in the:

• Stone Age
• Ancient Greece
• Middle Ages
• Scientific Revolution

Answer 3

Stone Age: Disease attributed to evil spirits
Ancient Greece: Balance between 4 humours (bodily fluids)
Middle Ages: Illness seen as punishment from God
Scientific Revolution: Illness understood by studying cellular & physiological processes

Question 4

What is the biomedical model of health and illness?

Answer 4

• Views symptoms as having an underlying pathology
• Deals with objective facts
• Does not account for subjective differences in the way people respond to the same disease

Question 5

What is the biopsychosocial model of health and illness?

Answer 5

• Current approach in health psychology
• Mind is crucial in understanding health & illness
• Includes biological, psychological and social explanations of health & illness experience

Question 6

How have the leading causes of death change in the last 100 years?

Answer 6

1900s - infectious diseases, due to lack of immunisation & sanitation
2000s: cancer, respiratory disease, injury/poisoning, due to lifestyle choices

Question 7

How have views of health changed from the 18th century to the 20th century?

Answer 7

18th century: Health considered to be under individual control
20th century: Health linked to ‘fitness to work’, belief that Western medicine cures all

Question 8

What were the top 3 causes of Indigenous deaths from 2001-2005?

Answer 8

Circulatory disease, injuries, cancer

Question 9

What did Bauman (1961) find health to be defined as?

Answer 9

• Feeling: General sense of well-being
• Symptom Orientation: Absence of symptoms of disease
• Performance: Able to do things a physically fit person is able to do

Question 10

What factor did Bauman (1961) find influences subjective views of health and the definition of health?

Answer 10

Current health status and other personal and social factors, such as age

Question 11

What did the Health and Lifestyle Survey (1990) find were the categories of health?

Answer 11

Health as not ill
Health as a reserve
Health as a behaviour
Health as physical fitness & vitality
Health as psychosocial well-being
Health as function

Question 12

What is the definition of health given by the WHO?

Answer 12

State of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and…not merely the absence of disease or infirmity

Question 13

What is not explicitly addressed in the WHO definition of health?

Answer 13

• Socio-economic and cultural influence on health
• Illness & health decisions
• Role of the psyche, which plays a major role in the experience of health & illness

Question 14

What are 4 common cross-cultural perspectives of health?

Answer 14

• Holistic: Social, biological, spiritual, interpersonal & health all integrated
• Supernatural & spiritual: Faith, God, hexes, evil eye
• Collectivist: Emphasise group needs
• Individualistic: Emphasise uniqueness of members

Question 15

The developmental process is a function of the interaction between what 3 factors?

Answer 15

Learning: Relatively permanent change in knowledge, skill or ability
Experience: What we do, see, hear, feel and think
Maturation: Though, behaviour or physical growth due to genetic development/ageing

Question 16

What were the 4 stages of maturation Piaget proposed?

Answer 16

Sensorimotor (0-2 years)
Pre-operational (2-7 years)
Concrete operational (7-11 years)
Formal operational (12 years - adulthood)

Question 17

Bibace & Walsh (1980) found children in the sensorimotor & pre-operational stages explained illness in what 3 ways?

Answer 17

• Incomprehension: Irrelevant/no answer
• Phenomenonism: Sign or sound associated with illness
• Contagion: Illness is from a person or object or associated with an activity

Question 18

Bibace & Walsh (1980) found children in the concrete operational stage explained illness in what 2 ways?

Answer 18

Contamination: Multiple symptoms, germs/behaviour cause illness
Internalisation: Illness is within the body, understand simple information about illness

Question 19

Bibace & Walsh (1980) found adolescents & people in the formal operational stage explained illness in what 2 ways?

Answer 19

Physiological: Defined in terms of organs/functions, multiple causes of illness
Psychophysiological: Mind & body interact, role of stress & worry

Question 20

What is the aim of health psychology?

Answer 20

Describe, explain, predict, and where possible, intervene to control or modify behavioural and mental processes

Question 21

What does empiricism (observation) involve?

Answer 21

Observe
Define problem
Collect data
Analyse data
Develop theory
Test theory using data

Question 22

What are the main goals of health psychology?

Answer 22

Develop an understanding of biopsychosocial factors involved in

• Promotion/maintenance of health
• Improving health care systems & policy
• Prevention/treatment of illness
• Causes of illness

Question 23

What other areas is health psychology associated with?

Answer 23

Medical psychology
Behavioural medicine
Psychosomatic medicine
Medical sociology

Question 24

What are the 4 approaches to health psychology?

Answer 24

Clinical
Public
Community
Critical