The Social Cure Approach

Question 1

Putnam (200): If you belong to no groups but decide to join one, you cut your risk of dying over the next year by ——

Answer 1

Half

Question 2

Lacking social connections may be as damaging to health as smoking —–cigarettes per day (Holt-Lunstad, 2010).

Answer 2

15

Question 3

We know social relationships are significantly associated with survival. True or False: Not having social relationships has a greater risk than other well-known factors like obesity, inactivity

Answer 3

True!

Question 4

Social —- and Social —- were the two most important factors for the rank of risk factors for health

Answer 4

Support and Integration

Question 5

Social support is the most important health risk factor. In the Holt-Lanstad study (2010), out of 11, where was it ranked for the perceived importance

Answer 5

11/11 i.e. least important

Question 6

Why may a lack of social connectiveness be bad for health

Answer 6

No one to moderate isolated peoples behaviours Lack of reference point for normality of behaviour Increased risk of depression/mental health

Question 7

Steffens (2011) looked at health in organisational contexts. They found stronger effects for —— than ——-

Answer 7

Stronger effects for mental health indicators than for physical health (but still present)

Question 8

Postmes (2019) looked at social identity and depression. They found a negative association but variability in effect sizes. Stronger effects were found in ——– groups?

Answer 8

Stronger effects in non-stigmatized groups

Question 9

Who founded the social identity/approach theory

Answer 9

Turner et al. (1987)

Question 10

What does social identity/approach theory suggest

Answer 10

• Relationship between the self and the group o The “me” and the “us” • Traditionally focused on intergroup behaviour (prejudice, discrimination) but increasingly relevant to health • More generally, accounts for complexity, richness and variety of the social world

Question 11

What do we derive from our social identities?

Answer 11

• Sense of belonging • Source of self-esteem BIRGing – Cialdini et al., (1976) Wann & Branscombe (1994) • Source of support (coping with stress)

Question 12

Levine et al (2005) looked at helping behaviours. Outcome variable (dependent variable): number of fans who helped someone in need

They varied who the victim was

What was the overall outcome finding they reported

Answer 12

We are more likely to help (and be helped by) people with whom we share a social identity i.e., people who are the “same as me”

Question 13

What effect did priming have on the symptom intensity score of cold sufferers

Answer 13

• Cold sufferers report more intense cold symptoms
• Sneezing, sore throat, blocked nose etc.
• This effect was qualified by the prime
• Those primed to focus on their cold reported most intense symptoms

Question 14

What effect does self-identifying/being labelled as ‘frail’ or a general negative attitude to ageing have on health

Answer 14

Precicted greater fraility/mortality 6 years later (warmoth 2017)

Question 15

St Claire 2008 looked at the influence of social network on rhinovirus susceptibility.. what did they find?

Answer 15

• Social network associated with cold symptoms
• Those with more ties within a network were less susceptible to cold: Subjective measures (self-report) and objective (e.g., mucus production) measures
• Findings not explained by other factors (demographics, personality)

Question 16

When we see ourselves in terms of a health label – cold sufferer, arthritic, frail etc.– we are more likely to conform to the norms which describe and prescribe the symptoms

What does this mean?

Answer 16

we are more likely to experience/develop those symptoms

Question 17

Define: The identification hypothesis:

Answer 17

“A person will generally experience the health-related benefits or costs of a given group membership only to the extent that they identify with that group”

Question 18

“When, and to the extent that, a person defines themselves in terms of a given social identity they will enact- or at least strive to enact- the norms and values associated with that identity”

Answer 18

The norm enactment hypothesis

Question 19

Oyserman et al. (2007): social identities can undermine health

Why/How?

Answer 19

• Lower income (objectively) worse health
• Health behaviours- seen as relevant, less identity as its something that ‘someone else’ does
  
  • Even though they know these choices would be good/bad

Question 20

Why is social identity fluid?

Answer 20

Self-categorization theory: context-dependency of social identity

We have access to a variety of identities i.e. Lecturer, student, psychologist, mother, female etc.

How we see ourselves (and others) influences how we see the social world- Empathy for someone in need depends upon our relationship to them: Paris vs. Jakarta attacks

We empathise more with people like us (i.e., ingroup members: Tarrant et al., 2009) and social connectedness makes empathy more likely

Question 21

Define social support

Answer 21

Social interactions or relationships that provide individuals with actual assistance or with a feeling of attachment to a person or group that is perceived as loving or caring

Question 22

How can we explain the mixed effects of social support?

Answer 22

Being in a conflictual relationship can be bad for health. Interpersonal conflicts are reported as more distressing than all other daily stressors (workload, travel probs etc.): Bolger et al. (1989)

Conflict impacts on health: Cohen et al. (1998): social conflicts and cold symptoms following exposure to virus

Critical factor seems to be how the person providing support is perceived by the recipient

Question 23

What is the support hypothesis

Answer 23

“When, and to the extent that, people define themselves in terms of shared social identity, they will (a) expect to give each other support, (b) actually give each other support and (c) construe the support they receive more positively”

Question 24

What is the agency hypothesis

Answer 24

“When, and to the extent that, a group of people define themselves in terms of shared social identity, they will develop a sense of collective efficacy, agency and power”

Question 25

What are the 6 pillars of wellbeing

Answer 25

The “six pillars” of wellbeing (income, life expectancy, support, freedom, trust, generosity) (Helliwell et al., 2018)

Question 26

True or false:

Individual self-efficacy (belief that one can perform a given action) is influenced by observing similar others performing the same action

Answer 26

true

Question 27

Cameron et al. (2018): Investigation of a chronic disease self-management programme (N=213) for various conditions – lung disease, heart disease, arthritis.

Describe what they found.

Answer 27

• Identification with the group predicted group-derived efficacy (belief that the group helped them take responsibility for and develop confidence in managing disease) and wider self-efficacy (confidence in own abilities to manage disease)
  
  • Efficacy beliefs were associated with better physical and mental health
    
    • E.g., wellbeing, depression, fatigue, pain