Week 2 Healthy behaviours Flashcards
Primary goals of health psychology include…
preventing illness, promoting good health and assisting with treatment.
Give an example of preventive behavior change in health psychology.
Encouraging people to wear sunscreen to avoid skin cancer.
At which levels can behavior change be achieved?
Societal, environmental, social, and individual levels.
What are examples of societal-level interventions for behavior change?
Policy changes and mass media campaigns.
What is an example of environmental manipulation for behavior change?
Improving the availability of green spaces and fresh produce.
How does social influence contribute to behavior change?
Through the support and influence of family and friends.
What factors should be understood to change behaviors in context?
The cues (triggers) for behavior and the consequences of the behavior.
Why is it important to evaluate the impact of behavior change interventions?
To determine if the intervention has had a meaningful impact.
How can we measure whether behavior change has been meaningful?
By measuring and analyzing the behavior.
What framework is used to discuss levels of intervention
The ecological model: societal, environmental, social, and individual levels.
What is the primary focus of health psychologists regarding health behaviours?
Health psychologists focus on promoting health behaviours like eating a healthy diet, engaging in physical activity, immunisation, wearing sun-protective clothing, and limiting alcohol consumption.
Why do health psychologists focus on health behaviours even if people aren’t sick?
Health behaviours prevent disease and illness later in life, such as chronic diseases like cancer, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes.
What percentage of the years of life lost due to premature death in Australia is attributed to cancer and cardiovascular disease?
Over 50%.
Why don’t people adopt healthy behaviours, even when they know the benefits?
Knowledge alone rarely leads to behaviour change because health behaviours are complex and influenced by many factors.
What model is often used to understand the broad levels of influence on health behaviour?
The ecological model.
What does the ecological model examine in relation to health behaviour?
t examines societal, environmental, social, and individual influences on behaviour.
What is Australia’s most common cancer type in people aged 12 to 24?
Skin cancer.
Despite awareness, what percentage of Australians regularly use sun protection during peak UV times?
Fewer than 50%.
What influences the likelihood of adopting sun protection behaviours in Australia?
Factors such as age, gender, geographic location, and cultural attitudes toward tanning.
Why do adolescents and young adults in Australia continue to tan despite knowledge of skin cancer risks?
They perceive a tan as desirable and continue to deliberately sun expose themselves.
What critical thinking question is raised about sun protection and sun exposure behaviours?
Identify factors influencing these behaviours at each level of the ecological model and whether they vary with age, gender, and geographic location.
What are societal influences on health behaviour?
Societal influences occur at state, national, or global levels, shaping health behaviours through policy, legislation, and mass media campaigns.
How do changes in policy or legislation influence health behaviour?
They result in widespread change by making health behaviours mandatory or creating barriers to engaging in risky behaviours, such as taxes on alcohol and tobacco.
Give an example of a policy that significantly changed societal health behaviour.
The compulsory wearing of seatbelts or bans on smoking inside restaurants.
Why can’t all health behaviours be influenced by policy changes?
Some behaviours, like staying indoors during peak UV radiation, would be considered too intrusive and unwelcome by most people.
What is an alternative method to policy for promoting health behaviours?
Mass media campaigns, which deliver health messages to large populations through television, radio, newspapers, or online platforms.
What factors reduce the effectiveness of mass media campaigns?
Competing messages from unhealthy behaviour marketing, inconsistent messaging, and difficulties in achieving widespread exposure due to diverse media platforms.
What makes mass media campaigns more likely to succeed?
Being research-based, tested during development, widely exposed, well-funded, supported by relevant policies, and offering health-related products (e.g., nicotine patches, sunscreen).
Why is the environment important in promoting behaviour change?
Environmental factors can create or remove barriers to engaging in health behaviours, affecting the success of interventions.
What are examples of community-level environmental changes that promote health?
Creating green spaces, providing bike lanes, and increasing access to healthy foods.
How can workplaces promote health through environmental changes?
By establishing smoke-free policies, providing free fruit, or offering flexible work hours for exercise.
What is “nudging” in the context of health behaviour?
Designing environments to influence behaviour in a predictable way while preserving individual freedom of choice.
What are examples of biases that influence health choices?
Optimism bias (underestimating personal risk) and status quo bias (preferring to maintain current behaviours).
What is a famous example of nudging used in an airport?
Etching a fly image into urinals in Amsterdam to improve accuracy and reduce spillage.
What is the significance of default options in nudging?
People tend to stick with default choices, so selecting health-promoting defaults (e.g., smaller soft drink sizes) can nudge healthier behaviours.
Why is it difficult to evaluate the impact of environmental interventions?
Most studies focus on individual behaviour change or social networks, and further research on environmental changes is needed.
How do family and friends influence health behaviour?
Through social norms, which define what is perceived as normal or socially acceptable.
What health behaviours are significantly influenced by family?
Dietary choices, physical activity, and alcohol consumption.
What health behaviours are influenced by peers or friends?
Smoking, diet, alcohol consumption, and physical activity.
What is the difference between proximal and distal norms?
Proximal norms come from close family and friends, while distal norms are associated with broader peer groups or media.
Which type of norm typically has a greater influence on health behaviour?
Proximal norms.
What does the diffusion of innovations model describe?
The process by which an idea or behaviour spreads through a social network.
What is the typical pattern of adoption in the diffusion of innovations model?
An S-shaped curve: slow initial adoption, steep increase, then leveling off.
What factors make an innovation spread more rapidly?
If it is advantageous, consistent with values, observable, easy to try, and easy to use.
Who are considered “opinion leaders” in social systems?
Influential community members, such as health practitioners or teachers, who can influence others’ behaviours.
Why is the adoption of prevention behaviours often slow?
Because the rewards (e.g., longer life expectancy) are delayed, making the behaviours seem less advantageous in the short term.
How can social networks be used to promote health behaviours?
By engaging opinion leaders, providing peer support, and promoting communication within the network.
What does social network analysis examine?
It considers the influence of a network on individual behaviours and the behaviour of the system as a whole.
What is centrality in a social network, and why is it important?
Centrality refers to how connected an individual is within the network. Central individuals are influential in spreading ideas and behaviours.
What role do individuals in “bridging positions” play in a social network?
They connect otherwise disconnected groups, spreading ideas or behaviours, but may also act as bottlenecks.
Why do social networks offer broader opportunities for interventions?
Changes in one person’s behaviour can influence others in the network, creating a ripple effect.
What does the ABC approach stand for
antecedents, behaviour, consequences.
___come before our target behaviour and may be thought of as cues, or stimuli,
Antecedents
___come after behaviour and may be though of as reinforcing factors
Consequences
What are the two definitive theories in psychology we use to approach individual behaviour change
classical and operant conditioning.
associations between two related events are leaned and that learned association can prompt a physical response.
classical conditioning.
reduction or removal of a stimulus that elicits a conditioned response and promts undesirable behaviour in order to reduce the frequency of that response.
stimulus control interventions
Theory developed by skinner where he demonstrated the liklihood that behaviour will recur is dependent on the consequences of that behaviour.
operant learning.
In behaviour diaries, we look for the consequences of behaviours, and some types of intervention focus on changing those patterns of reinforcement or creating new ones.
Behaviour modification interventions
behaviours that will earn reinforcement
response contingencies
structured techniques that can be used to understand whether an intervention has been successful.
single systems designs.
where a treatment is implemented and then removed.
withdrawal design
where at least three individuals undertake the intervention, but begin staggered to help rule out other potential reasons for behaviour bhang
mutiple baseline designs.
Behaviour can be quantified in terms of
Frequency, duration, Iterval and magnitude
once behaviour is measureable, why do we plot it on a graph
Plotting the data allows us to identify any patterns.
The ___ ___ shows an increase or decrease by the same amount each day
linear trend
the ___ ____ shows consistent consuption across days,
stable pattern
The ___ ___ show an example where alcohol is only consumed on weekends
daily changes
The __ ___ shown an increase or decrease by increasing amount each day
curvilinear trend
the ___ figure shows changes each day
variable
What is the ultimate focus of all obesity prevention and treatment strategies?
Individual behavior change related to caloric intake and expenditure.
How do obesity prevention strategies differ from obesity treatment strategies?
Obesity prevention may require different conceptual frameworks and approaches because the focus is on preventing weight gain rather than losing weight.
What are the four levels of behavior change in the ecological model?
Behavioral modification (e.g., personalized counseling).
Social support (e.g., from family or peers).
Environmental manipulations (e.g., pricing changes).
Mass media or social marketing (e.g., information dissemination).
What are two cross-cutting issues in obesity prevention interventions?
Tailoring: Adapting interventions to improve relevance for specific subgroups.
Motivation: Assessing readiness to perceive obesity as a paramount problem and make changes.
Name one theory related to behavior change and explain its principle.
Learning Theory/Operant Conditioning: Behaviors followed by positive consequences are likely to be sustained, while those followed by negative consequences are less likely to occur.
What does the Social Learning Theory emphasize?
The role of observational learning and role modeling in initiating and maintaining behaviors.
What does Behavioral Economics Theory highlight about behavioral choices?
Choices depend on costs and the availability of alternative options. For instance, access or cost changes can influence healthier food choices.
What are the six stages of the Transtheoretical Model of behavior change?
Precontemplation
Contemplation
Preparation
Action
Maintenance
Determination
What is the focus of the Social Ecological Model in behavior change?
It focuses on how individuals interact with their social environment over time and emphasizes that behavior occurs within broader social contexts.
Why might individual or group-based counseling be applicable in some obesity prevention programs?
They are suitable for stabilizing weight in overweight individuals during high-risk periods, such as postpartum, pubertal transitions, or smoking cessation.
What role do environmental manipulations play in obesity prevention?
They can include strategies like changing pricing structures at food locations to encourage healthier choices.
How is tailoring used in behavior change interventions?
Interventions are adapted to improve relevance for specific ethnic, gender, or socioeconomic subgroups.
What does the social ecological model emphasize?
The critical roles of family, community, and broader society in influencing behavior, including the “toxic environment” contributing to obesity by promoting low-nutrient, inexpensive foods.
What is the focus of diffusion theory?
The process by which new technological ideas or techniques spread through communication channels over time and become part of the larger social system.
What are the five stages of technological innovation described in diffusion theory?
Knowledge, persuasion, decision, implementation, and confirmation.
What are the three main goals of behavior modification strategies?
(1) Enhance awareness of targeted behaviors, (2) modify antecedent situations or consequences, and (3) reinforce changes in targeted behaviors.
What is self-monitoring in behavior modification?
A strategy that involves recording the frequency of targeted behaviors to provide feedback, increase awareness, and support behavior change.
How does functional analysis of behavior (FAB) aid in behavior change?
FAB identifies antecedents and consequences of behaviors to reveal patterns and suggest environmental changes to facilitate change.
What is stimulus control in behavior modification?
The process of removing cues for unhealthy behaviors and amplifying cues for healthy behaviors to encourage positive changes.
Why is goal setting important in behavior modification?
It encourages setting small, attainable goals that build toward larger objectives, providing a sense of mastery and supporting continued progress.
How does feedback contribute to behavior change?
It provides individuals with information about their progress, reinforcing their efforts and helping them adjust their strategies.
What role does positive reinforcement play in behavior change?
It helps offset the discomfort of giving up unhealthy behaviors by rewarding progress, fostering motivation, and encouraging long-term success.
What is the difference between structural and functional social support?
Structural support refers to the availability of support givers (e.g., friends), while functional support refers to perceived support and its quality.
How does social support influence weight control?
Peer and family support can enhance adherence to weight loss programs, with group treatment often yielding better outcomes than individual approaches.
