Midterm 1- Lesson 1-7

Question 1

Identify the problems that can occur when an educational appeal focuses on negative information regarding health risks.

Answer 1

Sometimes when people receive negative information about risks to their health, they process that information defensively. Instead of making appropriate health behavior changes, they may come to view the problem as less serious or more common than they had previously believed, particularly if they intend to continue the behavior. Smokers, for example, know that they are at a greater risk for lung cancer than are nonsmokers, but they see lung cancer as less likely or problematic and smoking as more common than do nonsmokers.

Question 2

Discuss the two factors that determine whether or not a person will practice a specific health behavior, according to the health belief model.

Answer 2

1. Perceiving a personal health threat. The perception of a personal health threat in influenced by at least three factors: general health values, which include interest and concern about health; specific beliefs about personal vulnerability to a particular disorder, and beliefs about the consequences of the disorder, such as whether or not they are serious. Thus, for example, people may change their diet to include low-cholesterol foods if they value health, fell threatened by the possibility of heart disease, and perceive that the threat of heart disease is severe.
2. Believing that particular health practice will be effective in reducing that threat.

Question 3

Describe the relationship between self-efficacy and health behavior.

Answer 3

An important determinant of the practice of health behaviors is a sense of self-efficacy: the belief that one is able to control one’s practice of a particular behavior. For example, smokers who believe they will not be able to break their habit probably will not try to quit, even though they may understand that smoking is risky and that stopping smoking is desirable. Typically, research finds a strong relationship between perceptions of self-efficacy and both initial health behavior change and long-term maintenance of change.

Question 4

Name the three components of behavioral intention

Answer 4

The theory of planned behavior claims that health behaviors are a consequence of intention, which has three components:

1. Attitude toward the specific action: the likely outcome of an action and the value of the outcome.
2. Subjective norms: belief about what others think is the right course of action.
3. Perceived behavioral control: the feeling that one is capable of performing the action and that the action will have the intended effect.

Question 5

fear appeals

Answer 5

Efforts to change attitudes by arousing fear to induce the motivation to change behavior; fear appeals are used to try to get people to change poor health habits

Question 6

health belief model

Answer 6

A theory of health behaviors; the model predicts that whether a person practices a particular health habit can understood by knowing the degree to which the person perceives a personal health threat and the perception that particular health practice will be effective in reducing that threat.

Question 7

self-efficacy

Answer 7

The perception that one is able to perform a particular action.

Question 8

theory of planned behavior

Answer 8

Derived from the theory of reasoned action, this theoretical viewpoint maintains that person’s behavioral intentions and behaviors can be understood by knowing the person’s attitudes about the behavior, subjective norms regarding the behavior, and perceived behavioral control over that action