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Psychology 300 Level > Weeks 1-7 > Flashcards

Weeks 1-7 Flashcards

1
Q

What is health psychology?

A

Study of the connection between the mind and body - mental and physical health.

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2
Q

How was health psychology developed?

A

Main cause of illness changed - initially people were dying of infectious diseases, but people began to die of diseases that were lifestyle related.

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3
Q

What is health?

A

The absence of disease as well as the presence of well-being.

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4
Q

Explain the biomedical model.

A

All diseases and physical disorders are explained by disturbances in physiological processes, which are separate to psychological and social processes. Separates the mind and the body from one another.

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5
Q

Explain the biopsychosocial model and who created it. What was wrong with it?

A

Engel created the model in 1977. Believes that health is an interaction of biology, psychology, and social well-being. The interactions produce health. Critique - does not consider cultural impact.

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6
Q

Explain the Whare Tapa Wha model and who created it. What was wrong with it?

A

Created by Sir Mason Durie in 1985. Created the house model of physical, mental, spiritual and social health, all interacting with each other and needing one another to be strong for all to work. Critique - too generalizable to be used in clinic.

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7
Q

Explain the Meihana model and who created it.

A

Created by Suzanne Pitama in 2007. Two waka going along the journey - patient and whanau. Five aspects used within clinical practice - physical health, mental health, outside support systems, spiritual health, and physical environment the patient is in. There are four winds that can effect the movement of the waka - marginalization, colonization, racism, and migration. There are four positive winds to help along the journey - ahua (appearance and ID), whenua (connection to land), tikanga, whanau.

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8
Q

Difference between basic and applied research goals.

A

Basic: increase knowledge about health and behavior for the sake of gaining knowledge.
Applied: increase understanding and find solutions to real-world problems.

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9
Q

Explain an experimental research design.

A

Researcher changes the independent variable to see if the dependent variable is affected. Must involve random assignment.

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10
Q

What is a true experiment?

A

When random assignment is completed to experimental and control groups.

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11
Q

What is a random controlled trial?

A

Random assignment to treatment and control conditions, sometimes using placebos.

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12
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a randomized controlled trial?

A

Advantages: control over participants, able to infer causation, test placebo effects, control for expectancy effects, and control for experimenter effects.
Disadvantages: low ecological validity, hard to generalize to the real world, can disregard individual variation, not everything can be tested.

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13
Q

Explain what a quasi-experimental design is.

A

A study that compares people in pre-existing groups on a dependent variable.

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14
Q

Explain a case control/retrospective design.

A

Study comparing people in a pre-existing case group to a matched control group - matched by age, gender etc.

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15
Q

Explain the difference between cross-sectional and longitudinal studies.

A

Cross-sectional: researcher measures everyone at one point in time.
Longitudinal: researcher measures patients over a long period of time.

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16
Q

Difference between macro- and micro-longitudinal studies.

A

Macro: assessments over months, years etc.
Micro: assessments frequently over a short period of time.

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17
Q

Difference between quantitative and qualitative data analysis.

A

Quantitative measures numerical data. Qualitative measures discourse and verbal themes.

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18
Q

Difference between stress and stressors.

A

Stress: a psychological and physiological reaction that occurs in response to threat.
Stressor: a stimulus or event that causes stress.

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19
Q

Difference between acute and chronic stress.

A

Acute is sudden, short-lived. Chronic is long-lasting and stays around for a while.

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20
Q

What has research about major life stressors shown to do to physical health in terms of TB and cardiac patients?

A

Patients with TB or cardiac patients have shown to have more major life stressors occur in the years prior than control patients.

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21
Q

What is the ACE questionnaire and how do the results impact health outcomes?

A

ACE questionnaire measures negative early childhood experiences. Higher scores on ACE related with greater depressive symptoms, higher rates of antidepressant use, smoking, alcoholism.

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22
Q

Explain the perceived stress scale and how the scores relate with social support. What are higher stress scores associated with biologically?

A

PSS measures subjective stress. Higher social support relates to lower scores. PSS is associated with changes in amygdala gray matter.

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23
Q

What is eustress?

A

A positive stress that improves performance and motivates energy.

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24
Q

What is the concept of anti-fragility?

A

The idea that organisms can benefit from certain levels of stress.

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25
Q

What factors can increase or decrease stress response?

A

Level of controllability, the locus of control (where stressor is coming from), level of uncertainty, level of ambiguity, level of complexity, level of volatility.

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26
Q

Four pathways affected by stress?

A

Behavioural, neural, hormonal, immune.

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27
Q

Explain how stress changes behaviour.

A

Stress changes behaviour by changing lifestyle factors - increased smoking and alcohol, decreased exercise and worse diet.

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28
Q

Explain the physiological changes caused by stress.

A

Stress influences SAM and HPA systems. These systems get us out of danger.

29
Q

Explain the SAM system and how it works. What type of change is it?

A

Neural change that causes feeling of stress. System starts in the brain and travels to adrenal glands, releasing epinephrine from the kidneys and putting the body into fight or flight. Causes physiological stress responses.

30
Q

What does prolonged SAM activity cause?

A

Cardiovascular reactivity - no reduction in fight or flight system, leading to atherosclerosis (narrowing of arteries).

31
Q

Explain the monkey atherosclerosis study.

A

Monkeys randomly assigned to stressed or non-stressed environments and thickness of coronary arteries measured over time. Stressed monkeys showed significantly narrower arteries, meaning stress activates atherosclerosis and can lead to heart disease.

32
Q

Why are humans and non-human primates at higher risk for stress-related illness? 3 reasons.

A
  1. Have more variable and chronic stressors.
  2. Stress systems work less efficiently in sophisticated animals as our complex environment means we have more stressors.
  3. We live longer, are exposed to more stress, therefore more chance of illness.
33
Q

Explain the HPA-axis system. What type of change is it?

A

Hormonal change. H = appraisal of stress sends signal to hypothalamus. P = hypothalamus sends releasing factors to pituitary glands. A = pituitary gland send ACTH to adrenal gland which releases cortisol into bloodstream.

34
Q

Explain the HPA-axis system. What type of change is it?

A

Hormonal change. H = appraisal of stress sends signal to hypothalamus. P = hypothalamus sends releasing factors to pituitary glands. A = pituitary gland send ACTH to adrenal gland which releases cortisol into bloodstream.

35
Q

Difference in time course of SAM and HPA systems.

A

SAM is very quick and linked with short activity bursts. HPA is much slower and complex.

36
Q

What are some effects of long-term increased cortisol?

A

Insulin resistance, weight loss or gain, cognitive issues, depression, cushings disease.

37
Q

Define appraisal.

A

The universal process where we evaluate the significance of what is happening around us.

38
Q

Difference between primary and secondary appraisal.

A

Primary: fast initial evaluation of whether something presents as a threat or not.
Secondary: a second evaluation of whether we have the tools to cope with the threat or not.

39
Q

Difference between primary and secondary appraisal.

A

Primary: fast initial evaluation of whether something presents as a threat or not.
Secondary: a second evaluation of whether we have the tools to cope with the threat or not.

40
Q

Explain stress reactivity.

A

Psychological and biological changes in response to stressors.

41
Q

Explain the four individual-level and two dyadic-level factors that heighten stress reactivity according to Kiecolt-Glaser et al., (2020).

A

Individual: depression, worry and rumination, early life adversity, social evaluation.
Dyadic: couples/relationship partners, relationship quality.

42
Q

Explain angry monkey study and how the results generalize to stress reactivity.

A

All monkeys measured for their predisposition for hostility and heightened reactions, and then put in a stressed environment. Monkeys with high levels of reactivity also had thicker arteries. Hostility and negative emotional styles are linked to increased stress reactivity, which is linked to atherosclerosis risk and potential heart disease.

43
Q

What personality type is linked with higher risk of heart disease? Explain the personality.

A

Type A. Constitutes ambition, motivation, hostility etc.

44
Q

What is the link between dominance and coronary heart disease in the animal kingdom?

A

Dominant animals are more stressed as they show higher levels of aggression. These animals are more likely to develop artery thickness, leading to heart disease.

44
Q

What is the link between dominance and coronary heart disease in the animal kingdom?

A

Dominant animals are more stressed as they show higher levels of aggression. These animals are more likely to develop artery thickness, leading to heart disease.

44
Q

What is the link between dominance and coronary heart disease in the animal kingdom?

A

Dominant animals are more stressed as they show higher levels of aggression. These animals are more likely to develop artery thickness, leading to heart disease.

45
Q

What is the link between dominance and coronary heart disease in the animal kingdom?

A

Dominant animals are more stressed as they show higher levels of aggression. These animals are more likely to develop artery thickness, leading to heart disease.

46
Q

Explain the link between anxiety and neuroticism and cardiovascular illness from stress.

A

Anxiety and neuroticism have higher activation of the SAM system, which increases stress and the likelihood of heart-related illnesses.

46
Q

Explain the link between anxiety and neuroticism and cardiovascular illness from stress.

A

Anxiety and neuroticism have higher activation of the SAM system, which increases stress and the likelihood of heart-related illnesses.

47
Q

How does depression cause stress and vice versa?

A

Depression to stress: depressive episode leaves someone vulnerable to experience greater stress reactivity which can increase chance of relapse.
Stress to depression: extended stress can lead to depression due to a sense of needing to give up - this reflects the change from overactivation of SAM to HPA.

48
Q

Explain Frederickson (2000) study about positive emotional styles and stress recovery.

A

Students all under stressor, then either provided clip to produce contentment, amusement, sadness, or neutral emotion. Amusement and contentment groups recovered 15 seconds quicker than neutral, and 45 seconds quicker than sadness, from the stressor.

49
Q

Explain the link between poor social relationships and health.

A

Poor social relationships show increased risk of early mortality.

50
Q

What type of social factor is believed to be the most important for improving mortality?

A

Complex social integration - structural factor.

51
Q

Explain the SES-health gradient and its links to general well-being.

A

SES-health gradient is present within all areas of health - the lower the SES, the worse their health. Lower SES show higher rates of smoking, death etc.

52
Q

Explain the behavioural, psychological, and physiological pathways that link poor SES to bad health.

A

Behavioral: low SES associated with worse behaviours.
Psychological: low SES linked with greater mental illness and stress sensitivity.
Physiological: low SES leaves greater wear and tear on the body, overactivating SAM, HPA, and inflammatory systems.

53
Q

Explain the Cohen, Doyle & Baum (2006) study relating SES to health.

A

Gathered individuals from a range of SES for their levels of stress hormones and health behaviours. Lowest SES had highest cortisol and epinephrine. Link between SES and HPA/SAM overactivation was predominantly explained by smoking and social network index.

54
Q

Difference between a moderator and mediator?

A

A moderator is a third variable that changes the relationship between two variables.
A mediator is a third variable that explains the relationship between two variables.

55
Q

What are the big 4 health behaviours?

A

Smoking, drinking, exercise, diet.

56
Q

Explain smoking and SES link.

A

Lower SES communities have higher rates of smoking.

57
Q

Explain the link between smoking and physical health.

A

Smoking increases chances of peripheral artery disease, coronary heart disease, and stroke. Once given up smoking for 5 years, risk of stroke significantly decreases. Other illnesses risk stays high.

58
Q

Explain the link between smoking and mental health outcomes.

A

Smoking is more prevalent within people with mental health issues, particularly schizophrenia. Link between smoking, deprivation, and mental health - distress associated with deprivation, smoking is overrepresented in people with mental health issues, and areas of deprivation.

59
Q

Explain the AUDIT and what score classifies as hazardous consumption.

A

Test for alcohol consumption. 8 or higher is hazardous to health.

60
Q

Explain Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome.

A

Dementia caused by vitamin B1 deficiency that occurs when someone neglects food and consumes heavy amounts of alcohol. Lack of food leads to lack of B1 absorption.

61
Q

What is the relationship between heavy drinking and mental health issues?

A

Mental health issues seem to predict the prospective development of an alcohol disorder later on.

62
Q

Explain the pattern in improved longevity of life when completing exercise.

A

Steep improvement in longevity from 0 to 150 minutes exercise per week. After 600 minutes per week, there is no additional improvement to health.

63
Q

Explain the pattern in improved mental health when completing exercise.

A

Improvement up to 50 minutes per day, after this there is no further improvement. Benefits maximise at 5,000 steps a day and begin to drop at 15,000 steps.

64
Q

Explain the link between amount of fruit and vege consumed, mortality, and depression.

A

Up to 5 fruit and veges shows most improvement. After 5, there is no more improvement. Same for depression.

65
Q

Explain the link between stress, ghrelin, and stress-eating.

A

Stress increases cortisol, which raises blood sugar to expend energy. This stimulates insuline to store excess glucose to reduce blood sugar. Chronic stress can elevate blood sugar, leading to insulin resistance and weight gain. In some people, stress increases ghrelin which then increases appetite. Ghrelin can stimulate dopamine functioning which makes the process feel rewarding.

Psychology 300 Level (6 decks)

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