Personality and models of health behaviour

Question 1

What is personality?

Answer 1

An individual’s combination of consistent and unchanging traits that guide their behaviour, feelings, and thoughts.

Question 2

What are the big 5 personality traits (brief description)?

Answer 2

• Extroversion (degree of outgoingness, how talkative/reserved)
• Openness (Accepting of new ideas vs preferring routine)
• Conscientiousness (self-regulation, reliability vs carelessness)
• Agreeableness (Cooperative vs antagonistic)
• Neuroticism (Emotional stability and negative affect)

Question 3

Neuroticism and coping

Answer 3

People high on neuroticism tend to use more maladaptive coping strategies (withdrawal, avoidance))

Question 4

Neuroticism and health

Answer 4

Those high in neuroticism may experience more perceived stress, have reduced social support, be less likely to engage in health behaviours, and be more likely to report health outcomes in negative ways.

Question 5

Neuroticism and depression

Answer 5

3 possible models explain the relationship. Complication model suggest that depression may cause changes in personality traits overtime. Vulnerability model suggests that those high in neuroticism may be at enhanced risk of depression. Common cause model suggests another variable (genetics) may explain the relationship.

Question 6

Conscientiousness and health

Answer 6

Conscientiousness is associated with reduced mortality in the Terman life-cycle cohort. Possibly due to enhanced coping abilities and better health behaviours.

Question 7

Extraversion and Health

Answer 7

Generally associated with better well-being. Social support and health behaviours have been suggested as mechanisms but the evidence is weak.

Question 8

PA and the big 5

Answer 8

PA has small reliable relationship with conscientiousness and extraversion, and a small negative relationship with neuroticism.

Question 9

Trait boredom and health

Answer 9

Associated with poorer health.

Question 10

4 types of health behaviour

Answer 10

Health enhancing (exercise, healthy eating)
Health protecting (vaccination, screening)
Health harming (Smoking, drinking)
Sick role (Following prescription and proscriptions)

Question 11

Why categorize behaviours?

Answer 11

Motivations, cognitions, and affect will be different for behaviours. Health protective may result from stress. Changing health harming behaviours may require significant motivation.

Question 12

6 factors associated with health behaviours

Answer 12

1. Accessibility of services
2. Attitudes towards health care
3. Perceptions of disease threat
4. Knowledge about disease
5. Social network
6. Demographics

Question 13

What is the role of theory?

Answer 13

Theory helps us plan, implement, and evaluate interventions. It allows us to consider why people may not engage in health behaviours, and what we can do to alter their behaviour.

Question 14

Self-regulation

Answer 14

The process through which we examine our beliefs, self-monitor our behaviours, and set goals. Divided into motivational and volitional phases.

Question 15

Social-cognitive models

Answer 15

Models of health behaviour that propose health behaviorus are influenced by a combo of our social/physical environment and our cognitions.

Question 16

Summarize the health belief model

Answer 16

An old model. Behaviours are influenced by comparing threat (susceptibility and severity) and response effectiveness (costs and benefits of response). Health motivation and cues to action also influence.

Question 17

Protection Motivation Theory

Answer 17

Developed from the HBM to understand the effects of fear appeals in changing behaviour.

Question 18

What two constructs effect protection motivations?

Answer 18

Protection motivations are influenced by threat appraisals and coping appraisals.

Question 19

What is included in threat and coping appraisals in the PMT?

Answer 19

Threat appraisals:
- Extrinsic and intrinsic rewards
- Perceived vulnerability
- Perceived severity
Coping appraisals
- Response cost
- Response efficacy
- Self-efficacy

Question 20

What influences threat and coping appraisals in PMT?

Answer 20

Demographics, fear appeals, sources of information, personality.

Question 21

What is included in attitudes in the TPB?

Answer 21

Attitudes are your beliefs about the outcomes of the behaviour. Affective attitudes are on if you will enjoy it, and cognitive beliefs are if it will be beneficial.

Question 22

What is included in subjective norms for the TPB?

Answer 22

Subjective norms relate to how other view the behaviour. Injunctive norms relate to how others perceive the behaviour, and descriptive norms relate to if other do the behaviour.

Question 23

What is Perceived Behaviour Control in the TPB?

Answer 23

PBC relates to perceived confidence (self efficacy) and perceived control (barriers that are present).

Question 24

What causes the intention behaviour gap?

Answer 24

• Long time between intention and behaviour
• Factors out of your control
• Changes in motivation
• Lack of a plan

Question 25

Implementation intentions

Answer 25

Use of if…then… statements to link a cue to a goal-directed response.

Question 26

What are the 4 sources of self-efficacy in the social-cognitive theory?

Answer 26

Mastery experiences, Vicarious experiences, Verbal persuasion, and perception of physiological/affective states.

Question 27

Reciprocal determinism

Answer 27

The dynamic interactions of the environment, behaviour, and person that are affecting each other and constantly changing.

Question 28

Behavioural capacity

Answer 28

A person’s capacity to perform a behaviour, determined by their knowledge of what to do and how to do it.

Question 29

In general, for a behaviour to occur, a person must have…

Answer 29

Strong intention
The necessary skills
No barriers