Introduction to Health Psychology

Question 1

Why did health psychology come about as a sub-field in psychology?

Answer 1

In response to the changes in why we are dying; there was a shift from death by infectious disease to death by chronic disease as healthcare in industrialised countries improved. Due to people dying from chronic diseases, behaviours became relevant to the healthcare systems as such behaviours are linked to the development of illnesses. Psychologists were drawn into the medical field to use psychological strategies to understand and influence peoples’ health behaviours.

Question 2

Justify this statement: “The World Health Organisation’s definition of health in 1948 was ahead of its time”

Answer 2

The 1948 definition of health by WHO was ahead of its time because it made two key distinctions; firstly it incorporated social and mental health into the definition, not only physical, and secondly it recognised that health is not just the absence of illness.

Question 3

Compare and contrast the biomedical, biopsychosocial, and the Te Whare Tapa Wha models of health.

Answer 3

The biomedical model was used up until the 20th century and in essence, separates psychological processes from physiological processes. Using a biomedical model means that physical illnesses are caused by a disturbance in physiological functioning and this is studied separately from psychological and social processes. Conversely, the biopsychosocial model challenges the notion that everything can be reduced to a physical malfunction. It does this by incorporating physical processes, psychological processes and social processes, and the interactions between those, to model health. Te Whare Tapa Wha goes one step further to introduce spirituality into the model and to emphasise and extend the notion of social processes. Importantly what all of these models of health have in common is that they are all likely to be incomplete and subject to review as our knowledge base expands; after all a model is not reality, it is a representation of reality.

Question 4

What is the distinction between basic and applied research in health psychology? Give examples in health psychology. Do you think health psychology is more applied than other sub-fields in psychology? Why?

Answer 4

Basic and applied research applies to the research goal; the goal of a basic study is to acquire knowledge for knowledge-sake, it is a scientific discovery at a fundamental level. Basic research may eventually inform a solution. An example of this could be to understand the role of the immune system in depression. The goal of applied research is to increase understanding to apply to real-world problems, for example, studying how stress is linked to heart disease. I think that health psychology is a predominantly applied field because the knowledge acquired in this field directly influences policies and health care.

Question 5

How do we define treatment compliance?

a. The patient’s propensity to follow medical advice
b. The likelihood that a patient calls a lawyer
c. When the patient is not responsive to treatment
d. When a treatment is not administered to a patient
e. When an individual signs off for treatment for a family member

Answer 5

a. The patient’s propensity to follow medical advice

Question 6

Which of these is not a route through which communication occurs within the body?

a. Blood supply
b. Pheromonal system
c. Peripheral nervous system
d. Endocrine system
e. Microbiome

Answer 6

b. Pheromonal system

Question 7

What is the difference between a toxin and a toxicant?

a. A toxin is a naturally occurring substance in living organisms, while a toxicant is an agent released into the environment
b. A toxin is an agent released into the environment while a toxicant is a naturally occurring substance in living organisms
c. A toxin refers specifically to noxious substances found in foods, while toxicant refers collectively to all noxious substances
d. A toxicant refers specifically to noxious substances found in foods, while a toxin refers collectively to all noxious substances
e. There is no difference between toxins and toxicants.

Answer 7

a. A toxin is a naturally occurring substance in living organisms, while a toxicant is an agent released into the environment

Question 8

Which of these would not be a ‘second factor’ that would increase the vulnerability of an individual to develop a particular disease?

a. Toxins or toxicants
b. The adoption of bad health behaviours
c. Learning about potential rare illnesses
d. The use of certain drugs
e. Experiencing multiple or chronic life stressors

Answer 8

c. Learning about potential rare illnesses

Question 9

The course of which of these diseases can be influenced by environmental and psychological triggers?

a. Heart disease
b. Immune-related disorders
c. Auto-immune disorders
d. Diabetes
e. All of the above

Answer 9

e. All of the above

Question 10

A scientist actually measuring what they think they are measuring is referred to as?

a. Reliability
b. Congruence
c. Validity
d. Accuracy
e. Precision

Answer 10

c. Validity

Question 11

Which of these is not a necessary criterion to model human disorders?

a. Treatments that ameliorate symptoms in humans ought to do so in the animal model
b. Treatments that are ineffective in humans should be ineffective in animals
c. Manipulations that promote symptoms in humans should also do so in the animal model
d. The genomes should be congruent in both species
e. The mechanisms responsible for a disorder ought to be the same in both species

Answer 11

d. The genomes should be congruent in both species

Question 12

Which of these, from a reported study, may lead to a failure in replicating research findings?

a. The researchers selectively reported the most positive findings
b. The researchers used a large number of animals
c. The researchers controlled for important variables
d. The researchers used a longitudinal study design
e. The researchers were assessing for mediators

Answer 12

a. The researchers selectively reported the most positive findings

Question 13

A study in which participants are randomly assigned to groups in which one receives an experimental treatment and the second is similarly treated, but is given a placebo, is referred to as?

a. Randomized concurrents trial
b. Randomly conducted treatment
c. Randomized control trial
d. Randomly conducted trial
e. None of the above

Answer 13

c. Randomized control trial

Question 14

What is an open label trial?

a. A study in which the label of a drug treatment has been removed
b. A study in which only the participants know what was administered
c. A study in which only the clinicians know what was administered
d. A study in which both the participants and the clinicians know what was administered
e. A malpractice court proceeding that is open to the public

Answer 14

d. A study in which both the participants and the clinicians know what was administered

Question 15

In a quasi-experimental design, how are participants assigned to groups?

a. Participants are randomly assigned
b. Participants decide which experimental group to take part in
c. A confederate chooses which group the participants will belong to
d. Participants aren’t randomly assigned
e. There is no need for assignment in quasi-experimental designs

Answer 15

d. Participants aren’t randomly assigned

Question 16

A study in which past experiences are recorded based on individual recall or in response to specific questions is often referred to as?

a. Longitudinal
b. Archival
c. Historical
d. Prospective
e. Retrospective

Answer 16

e. Retrospective

Question 17

What is a possible consequence of running a study with a small sample size, and therefore low power?

a. The results may not be reliable
b. The results will certainly not be significant
c. The study will not get published
d. There will be a higher rate of attrition
e. The results will likely not be valid

Answer 17

a. The results may not be reliable

Question 18

If one variable (e.g., food intake) was found to be elevated in a group of individuals, and subsequently a second variable (e.g., frequency of obesity) was also found to be high, what kind of relationship between these two variables would you likely conclude there to be?

a. Mediation
b. Moderation
c. Moderated mediation
d. Causal
e. Correlational

Answer 18

e. Correlational

Question 19

What type of analysis is used to determine whether variables as a group might be more predictive of an outcome than simply knowing about a single variable?

a. Grouped analysis
b. Normative analysis
c. Cluster analysis
d. Meta-analysis
e. Multiple analysis

Answer 19

c. Cluster analysis

Question 20

‘Hazard’ means… and use an example.

Answer 20

The potential to cause harm, the possibility of something causing harm. For example, a bottle of bleach is a hazard. Whether it is on an open bench or in a locked cabinet, the hazard remains the same.

Question 21

‘Risk’ means… and use an example.

Answer 21

The likelihood of something occurring, the likelihood of harm in defined circumstances. For example, The bottle of bleach is the hazard, once somebody ingests it then there’s a real probability of doing harm to themselves. Something else needed to happen to change a hazard into a risk.

Question 22

To calculate risk in terms of health we need to know…

Answer 22

How does someone get exposed (exposure), and how much of the thing causes what sort of effect (dose-response).

Question 23

Psychosomatic illnesses fall into 3 categories, these are:

Answer 23

1. A mental and a medical illness are both present and each negatively affects the other
2. A psychiatric problem develops as a result of a medical illness
3. A psychiatric disturbance is expressed through physical problems

Question 24

How might becoming ill affect a person?

Answer 24

Becoming ill can undermine an individual’s self-reliance and sense of independence, shatters illusion of invulnerability and forces life-style changes.
It may cause the formation of a new identity as ‘the sick person’.
Not to mention impact the ability to work and take care of dependents.

Question 25

Is life expectancy linked to how much is spent on health programs?

Answer 25

Yes, generally the more a country spends on health programs the higher the life expectancy. However, this is not linear, there are some anomalies here; the USA spends a lot but is not at the top of the curve like you’d expect, the life expectancy in Russia falls below other countries that are spending the same amount, and then there’s a group of countries with the highest life expectancies that spend moderately. (Anisman Chapter 1)

Question 26

Is it beneficial to include a health psychologist on treatment teams?

Answer 26

Including a health psychologist can reduce negative effects associated with illness, enhance quality of life and facilitate recuperation. The inclusion of health psychologists on treatment teams that focus on complex, serious illnesses has been reinforced by reports that patients who received relevant counselling were more satisfied with the treatment, and their well-being was enhanced accordingly. (Anisman Chapter 1)

Question 27

Why is it important to consider patients’ desires in regards to treatment?

Answer 27

Patient satisfaction is enhanced when they have a say over treatment, and in some cases can improve their health.
It allows them to feel in control rather than the sick, helpless victim.

Question 28

‘All models are _____ but some are ______.’

An effective model will always have its _____________.

Answer 28

Wrong
Useful
Limitations

Question 29

What is a quasi-experimental design?

Answer 29

It’s similar to a randomized control trials but the participants are not randomly assigned, so then it’s not a true experiment.
Participants are assigned to groups based on certain conditions, characteristics or test scores.

Question 30

Describe a retrospective analysis.

Answer 30

Past experiences are recorded and compared to current state.

Question 31

Describe a longitudinal prospective analysis.

Answer 31

The participants are tracked for some time and periodically assessed.

Question 32

Why would a longitudinal analysis be better than a retrospective analysis?

Answer 32

Because peoples’ recall is not very accurate and current illness may influence their recall further.

Question 33

What are some problems with longitudinal analyses?

Answer 33

It can take many years to answer a question and there can be high attrition (drop-out rate).

Question 34

What is an alternative to longitudinal (prospective) analysis, which would reduce attrition?

Answer 34

A cross-sectional design. Independent sets of participants of interest are obtained at various times after a particular experience and compared with individuals who have not experienced this.

Question 35

How has what we are dying from changed from the 1900s? Why is this important?

Answer 35

We used to die from predominantly infectious diseases, now in the modern world we are dying from chronic diseases. We live longer now and are mostly protected from infectious diseases so our morbidity and mortality are shaped by our lifetime behaviours.

Question 36

Who created and when did the biopsychosocial model of health come about? What did this challenge?

Answer 36

Published by Engel in 1977. Engel challenged the assumption that everything can be reduced to a physical malfunction.

Question 37

What has always been the focus of treatment?

Answer 37

Treating people to get them to a stage where there is an absence of illness.

Question 38

What subfield goes beyond treating people to get them to a stage where there is an absence of illness?

Answer 38

The sub-field of positive psychology focuses on health as a continuum and helps people to live a flourishing life, not just a life without mental illness.

Question 39

Who created and when did the Te Whare Tapa Wha model of health come about? How does this differ from the Biopsychosocial model?

Answer 39

Created by Durie in 1985. A more holistic approach incorporating spiritual well-being. Even more emphasis on social side –> family, extended family and community.

Question 40

Studies vary by five dimensions, these are:

Answer 40

1. Goal (basic vs. applied)
2. Setting (laboratory vs. field)
3. Design (experimental; non-experimental; quasi-experimental)
4. Data collection method (self-report;observation; archival; performance; biological)
5. Data analysis method (quantitative; qualitative)

Question 41

What does ‘the great equalizer’ refer to?

Answer 41

Each person has an equal chance of being in any condition so that pre-existing differences among participants cancel each other out. This is essential to randomised control trials.

Question 42

What are the two key aspects to randomised control trials?

Answer 42

1. Random assignment to conditions

2. Only the independent variable is varied

Question 43

Why are RCTs often not possible in health psychology?

Answer 43

Random assignment to conditions is not always possible/ethical.
Many health psychology studies are based in the field so it is not easy to hold variables constant.

Question 44

What are the advantages of RCTs?

Answer 44

Causation and a lot of control.

Question 45

What are the disadvantages to RCTs?

Answer 45

• Less applicable to the real-world; less ability to generalise
• Sometimes it’s not ethical to randomly assign to a group
• Sometimes it’s not possible to randomly assign to a group

Question 46

What is a quasi-experimental study?

Answer 46

They’re not really experimental designs. Any study comparing pre-existing groups (not randomly assigned) on a dependent variable. Even if it’s comparing treatment and control, if the people are self-enrolling to the treatment then it’s quasi.

Question 47

Describe what cross-sectional designs are.

Answer 47

Variables are measured at the same time point and relationships are examined across people.

Question 48

How are ambulatory assessments useful? (also known as ecological momentary assessment or experience sampling methods)

Answer 48

• Avoids memory or recall bias
• Provides greater resolution in how processes unfold over time
• Examines daily within-persons patterns

Question 49

Use an example of how greater resolution provided by ambulatory assessment could benefit.

Answer 49

If look at a treatment for depression, improvement may be linear, improvements are immediate and the longer the treatment/intervention the better the result. Alternatively, it may take at least 2 weeks for the an effect so now you know the minimum time needed for the intervention.

Question 50

What kind of data collection method is imaging of brain activity?

Answer 50

Observational

Question 51

What kind of data collection method is cardio output?

Answer 51

Performance

Question 52

What are the five data collection methods?

Answer 52

Self-report
Observational
Archival
Performance
Biological

Question 53

What are three issues with self-reporting?

Answer 53

Socially desirable responding
Limits to introspection
Limits to memory

Question 54

‘Memories are not unbiased indicators of the sum of all experienced moments’ Is there evidence to support this statement?

Answer 54

Yes, when Stone and Broderick (2007) studied weekly recall of pain compared to momentary assessments of pain they found that weekly recall of pain experiences were higher than the average of momentary assessments. Memories were overly influenced by the most painful experience of the week (“peaks”), in addition to recent events (“ends”), and we tend to neglect longer durations of unchanging experience (“duration neglect”).