Week 1: What is Health Psychology?

Question 1

What is health?

Answer 1

A complete state of physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity

Question 2

What is wellness?

Answer 2

The optimum state of health

Question 3

What is health psychology?

Answer 3

The study of psychological influences on

• how ppl stay health
• why they become ill
• how they respond when they get ill

Question 4

What is the biomedical model and what is the assumption of the model?

Answer 4

Exclusive focus on the body and somatic processes

Assumption: All illness can be explained by aberrant somatic processes: psychological and social processes are IRRELEVANT

Question 5

What are the problems with the biomedical model?

Answer 5

1. Overly reductionist (low-level, cellular & chemical processes)
2. Assumes mind-body dualism
3. Emphasis on disease over health promo/maintenance
4. Cannot account for sig. variation among indivs. in development & treatment of illness

Question 6

What does mind-body dualism refer to?

Answer 6

Assumes that the mind and body exist separately and do not affect each other

Ignores the possibility that social and psychological processes can affect bodily states

Question 7

What is the biopsychosocial model of health?

Answer 7

Health is shaped by a complex interplay of biological, psychological and social factors

Question 8

What are the focuses of the biopsychosocial model?

Answer 8

1. Micro- and macro-level processes
2. Focuses on both illness and health maintenance
3. Highlights importance of patient-practitioner r/s - improves patient’s use of services & efficacy of treatment

Question 9

What are the reasons for the need for health psychology?

Answer 9

1. Increase in chronic illnesses
2. Expanded healthcare services
3. Advances in research, technology & treatment
4. Increased medical acceptance

Question 10

What are the reasons for the need for health psychology in Singapore?

Answer 10

1. Aging population and dementia
2. Fight against diabetes
3. Stress and burnout

Question 11

What is theory?

Answer 11

Set of analytic statements that explain a set of phenomena (e.g. disease, wellness, etc.)

Question 12

What are the advantages of a theory-driven field?

Answer 12

1. Provides guidelines for research & interventions
2. Generates specific predictions that can be tested & modified
3. Helps tie together loose ends (i.e. try to explain variation)

Question 13

What is the theory of planned behaviour?

Answer 13

Beliefs about outcome of behaviour
Evaluations of outcome
–> Attitude to specific behaviour

Normative beliefs abt behaviour
Motivation to comply
–> Subjective norms

Perceived behavioural control

==> Behavioural intention ==> Behaviour

Question 14

What are the research methods in health psychology?

Answer 14

• Correlational study
• Prospective study
• Retrospective study
• Experiments and quasi-experiments

Question 15

What is correlational research?

Answer 15

Measures whether changes in one variable correspond with changes in another variable

Question 16

What are the advantages and disadvantages of correlational research?

Answer 16

Adv: Highly adaptable
Disadv: Direction of causality is unclear

Question 17

What is prospective research?

Answer 17

Looks FORWARD in time to examine how people and/or health-related variables change over time

Question 18

What is longitudinal research?

Answer 18

Same people assessed at multiple time points

Question 19

What is retrospective research?

Answer 19

Looks BACKWARD in time to reconstruct the conditions that led to a current situation

Question 20

What are experiments?

Answer 20

Two or more differing conditions are created to which people are RANDOMLY ASSIGNED, and their responses are measured

Question 21

What is the advantage of experiments?

Answer 21

Allows causal inferences to be made

Question 22

What are randomised clinical trials (RCTs)?

Answer 22

Conducted to evaluate effectiveness of treatments or interventions over time

Question 23

What is evidence-based medicine?

Answer 23

Medical interventions go through rigorous testing and evaluation of their benefits before they become the standard of care

Question 24

What are quasi-experiments?

Answer 24

Rely on pre-existing groups with no random assignment

Question 25

What is the disadvantage of quasi-experiments?

Answer 25

Third variables/confounds cannot be used in quasi-experiments because random assignment is not used

Question 26

What is epidemiology?

Answer 26

Study of the frequency, distribution and causes of infectious and noninfectious disease in a population

Question 27

What is morbidity?

Answer 27

No. of cases of a disease that exist at some given point in time

Question 28

What is mortality?

Answer 28

No. of deaths due to particular causes

Question 29

What are the methodological tools in health psychology?

Answer 29

• Tools of neuroscience (e.g. fMRI)
• Mobile and wireless technologies (e.g. Ecological Momentary Interventions, EMI; ambulatory BP monitoring devices)
• Meta-analysis

Question 30

What is the role of health psychologists?

Answer 30

• Etiology and correlates of health and illness
• Prevention and treatment of illness
• Health promotion and maintenance
• Improve the healthcare system and the formulation of health policies