Unit 3 Flashcards
Biomedical Model of Health
Focuses on the physical reasons for illness and health problems.
Treatments come in the form of vaccines, surgery and medicines in order to restore the physical balance in a persons body.
It considers the mind separate and therefore not influential on a persons health. It ignores social and economic factors.
Biopsychosocial model of health
Developed due to doubts about the biomedical model—that health is purely physical.
Attempts to interrelate biological, psychological and social as combining factors that effect a persons health. More holistic than the biomedical model.
For example, poor health could be the mixture of a virus (biological), stress (psychological) and a job (social)
Classical Conditioning
A learning process that occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly paired: a response which is at first elicited by the second stimulus is eventually elicited by the first stimulus alone.
Classical Conditioning Example
The principles of classical conditioning can apply to so many other areas of everyday life. Any individual dish or type of food, if you’ve never eaten it before, is a blank slate for possible associations.
If the first time you eat sushi, you get terrible food poisoning, then it’s possible that almost anything to do with that sushi experience could gain negative associations and give you food aversion. Perhaps just the smell of sushi rice could make you want to gag, or the sight of raw fish could make you feel sick to your stomach.
Social Learning Theory
New behaviors can be acquired by observing and imitating others
Physiological Addiction
Chemicals in your brain known as neurotransmitters, such as dopamine, are released when we do certain activities that make us feel happy or relaxed.
Therefore we want to do this activity again and again to attain that feeling. This can lead to an addiction.
Health Belief Model
The health belief model investigates health behaviour that could be prevented and studies a patients response to treatment provided. It is a decision-making model that suggests the likelihood of an individual taking part in a particular health behaviour e.g., Quitting smoking.
Health Belief Model PEE Positive
Point - A Strength of the HBM is that it is
useful.
Example - For example it can help develop treatments that patients will be motivated enough to carry out.
Expand - It has been successfully used to predict cancer screening behaviour in women and can help design health interventions.
Health Belief Model PEE Negative
Point – A limitation of the HBM is that it is reductionist in its approach to predicting human behaviour.
Example - For example, each human is different and many of us can make irrational decisions after events occur – e.g., being told we are in the ‘obese’ category for weight.
Expand - Other models can offer alternative explanations to achieve a change in health behaviour. Therefore, we need a more holistic view.
Griffiths’ Six Components of Addiction
Physical and psychological dependence
Mood alteration
Tolerance
Withdrawal symptoms
Conflict
Relapse
Physical and Psychological Dependence (Griffiths)
Physical dependency refers to the withdrawal symptoms a person may experience when the drug stops, for example pain, irritability, shaking and sweating too. Psychological dependence is when the behaviour or drug becomes the most important thing in that persons life. Even if the person is not taking part in the behaviour, they are thinking about it always.
Mood Alteration (Griffiths)
People may experience a buzz or rush when they take heroin. An addict can bring about different mood alterations by changing their activities. For example, someone with a nicotine addiction will smoke in the morning to wake them up, giving them the rush they need to start the day. And in the evening, it can be taken to help them relax; one addiction can therefore result in different mood changes.
Tolerance (Griffiths)
Tolerance is an addict’s need to increase the amount of behaviour, for example ten cigarettes a day to fifteen and so on.
Withdrawal Symptoms (Griffiths)
These are the negative effects, both psychological and physical, that result when the addict is prevented from taking part in the activity. Some psychological effects may include moodiness, meanwhile physiological effects may include sweating, shaking and so on.
Conflict (Griffiths)
Conflict arises between the addict and those around them as a result of their addictive behaviour.
Relapse (Griffiths)
This is the return to the behaviour after the addict has attempted to give up. This can occur after months, or even years, in which the addict resumes the full behaviour and pattern of their original addiction.
Perceived Susceptibility (HBM)
Individuals assessment of their risk of getting the condition, for example “if I smoke, I have a higher chance of getting lung cancer.”
Perceived Severity (HBM)
Individuals assessment of the condition and what the consequences might be, for example “lung cancer is a serious illness.”
Perceived Benefit (HBM)
Individuals assessment of the positive outcomes of adopting the behaviour, for example “stopping smoking will help save me money.”
Perceived Barriers (HBM)
Individuals assessment of the influences that support or discourage the behaviour being carried out, for example “stopping smoking will make me ill tempered.”
Health Belief Model Strengths
The HBM can help develop effective treatments that patients will be motivated enough to carry out. It has been applied to a wide range of populations and health behaviours, for example Murray & McMillan (1993) successfully used the HBM to predict cancer screening behaviour in women.
It has also been applied to health interventions. Williamson & Wardle (2002) employed the HBM when designing an intervention aimed at increasing participation with cancer screenings.
Health Belief Model Weaknesses
The HBM structure indicates that humans process information in a rational yet unrealistic manner; often humans are irrational in their decisions after an event has occurred.
Alternative models have been proposed that may offer additional explanation of health behaviours, for example self efficacy theories and the belief in perceived confidence in being able to achieve a particular behaviour change.
Meta-Analysis
Involves researchers using studies and results that already exist and drawing overall conclusions from their findings.
Locus of Control
The extent to which people believe they have the power over the events in their lives.
Internal Locus of Control
Outcomes are within your control—determined by your hard work or decisions.
External Locus of Control
Outcomes outside of your control—determined by fate and independent of your hard work or decisions.
Theory of Planned Behaviour
A model devised by Ajzen (1985) based in three factors:
Attitude towards behaviour; e.g. I believe exercise is good and I will benefit from it so I will exercise
Subjective norm; norms of my family is that exercise is good and we all do some form of it
Perceived behavioural control; beliefs about factors that may encourage or prevent behaviour e.g. I can lose weight, and so I will.
Self-Efficacy Theory
Self-efficacy is your belief in your ability to succeed. It reflects confidence, motivation and high levels of self-efficacy may result in greater drive to change behaviour as people feel they have the confidence to succeed.
Four Influencers of Self-Efficacy
Enactive Influences - A persons past experiences of success and failure
Vicarious influences - comparing yourself to others who may have succeeded or failed
Social persuasion influences - Encouragement from family or friends
Emotional influences - An increase in anxiety when a person believes they cannot do something
Systematic Desensitisation
Slowly expose a patient to anxiety provoking behaviour paired with relaxation.
