Mechanisms of Acute "Feel-Better" Effects Flashcards
mediator
mechanism underlying an observed relationship (assessed statistically); mediator = mechanism
mechanism
how an intervention works; what biological or psychological process translates the intervention into the treatment effect; also called change mechanism; assessed w/ an experiment or trial
- designed to block/augment an effect
What are the key mechanisms of effective treatments to optimize changes?
- refining interventions by distilling them to their most essential elements
- teaching providers what key elements need to be delivered
- helping providers understand how to individualize treatments in a way that will maximize effects
proximal (close) effects
immediate effects of an experiment that are directly caused by the intervention in question; muscle contraction happens during exercise - anything related to muscle contraction is a _______ effect of exercising
distal (distance away) effects
effects that are delayed/downstream with likely mechanisms that result in these ______ effects occurring; exercising releases endorphins that lead to decreased pain sensitivity
What are some difficulties with mechanisms?
- how do we find them?
- need to know what causes the target
- unclear for most psychological targets
- need to experimentally manipulate to determine the importance on the distal outcome
What does the circumplex model of affect show?
- activation/arousal
- valence/pleasantness
- all affective states arise from different amounts of valence and arousal