health psychology exam 1

what is health?

state of physical, phycological and social well being; not just absence of disease

what is health psychology?

application of psychological theory and research to understand how to enhance health and prevent/treat illness

whats the average life expectancy in US and canada?

79-81 years

what is the life expectancy is sierra leone and chad?

50 years

what are health disparities?

preventable differences in health status or outcomes that are due to systemic injustice and oppression of groups of people based on their social identities

whats the leading cause of death in the US?

heart disease

the key targets for improving targets for improving human health and well being?

•Improving access to health services

•Eliminating health disparities

•Reducing chronic diseases such as cancer and diabetes

•Improving health in people of all ages

*Preventing injuries and violence

what were the goals of the affordable care act?

decrease number of people who do not have health insurance and lower costs of health care

whats the oldest known medical system?

ayurveda (ancient india)

what is ancient greece’s ancient historical roots?

hippocrates and humoral theory

what is ancient egpyt’s ancient historical roots?

nile theory: body has channels that carry air, water and blood; people become sick when blockages occur

rene descartes suggested a seperation of?

the mind and body

what is mind-body dualism?

mind and body are autonomous processes that are subject to different laws of causality

how does mind and body interact?

minimally

whats the biomedical model?

states that illness always has a biological cause (or pathogen), fairly reductionistic, consistent with mind body dualism, health is nothing more than the absence of disease

what are the four goals of health psychology?

•To scientifically study the causes or origins of specific diseases

•To promote health and identify ways to get people to engage

•To prevent and treat illness

•To promote public health policy and improvement of healthcare system

what is the biopsychosocial model?

health and longevity is multiply determined by biological, psychological, social, environmental, and cultural factors across the life course

whats the scientific method?

a formal systematic approach to identify reliable and valid explanations for phenomena

what does evidence based medicine rely upon?

relies upon scientific method

what are some disadvantages in the experimental study?

random assignment not always possible, some things can be difficult to manipulate, manipulations are not always reliable/valid, not always ecologically valid

what are some advantages in the experimental study?

can allow for stronger casual inferences

what are some advantages for observational study?

typically large sample, ecologically valid, measurement tends to be strong

what are some disadvantages for observational study?

difficult to draw strong causal inferences (i.e., correlation does not equal causation)

whats cross sectional design?

people assessed at one point in time

what is longitudinal designs?

people are assessed over time

whats quasi experimental design?

leveraging naturally-occurring differences between groups of people in an observational study 

what are advantages of having a case study?

great depth, can inform our outstanding of psychological phenomena, sometimes it is necessary

what are disadvantages of having a case study?

unknown generalizability

how do you infer casuality?

evidence must be consistent and make sense, the cause must appear before the outcome appears, there must be a dose-repsonse relationship between the cause and outcome, strength association between the cause and outcome must suggest causality and indence or prevalence of the disease or outcome must drop when the casual factor is removed

how can you measure health?

biological, self report, behavioral, life outcome, informant report

what is reliability?

consistency of a measure

what is validity?

accuracy of a measure what they are supposed to measure

can an unreliable measure be valid?

no

is a measure is valid then it has to be?

reliable

what is a genome?

a set of “instructions” for bodily systems and cells

what are bodily sysytems?

Organs and tissues that work together to serve a common purpose

what is an organ?

a group of specialized tissues that work together to perform a specific function

what is a tissue?

a group of similar cells that perform the same function

what is a cell?

the basic building blocks of tissues, organs, and bodily systems

are bodily systems deeply interconnected?

yes

how many chromosomes are in the human body?

23 from egg and 23 from sperm

an exception of an extra copy of chromosome 21 leads to?

down syndrome

many human characteristics, including health, are detrmined by?

many different genes as well as non genetic factors in our environment

what is a genotype in comparison of a phenotype?

all genes that a person inherits while a phenotype is obserable characteristics of a person

epigenome is a layer of?

of proteins that packages the genome and points cells to specific instructions

what impacts epigenome?

can be affected by prenatal environment, food, stress, toxic chemicals

what can impact DNA methylation?

environmental exposure such as early srtress or pollution

what are the structures of the nervous system?

brain, spinal cord, and nerves throughout the body

what is the function of the nervous system?

the cells of the nervous system are the body’s primary communication system

how do signals travel across?

neurotransmitters

CNS is?

brain and spinal cord

PNS is?

all other nerves in the body

how many neurons does the brain have?

40 billion individual neurons

the brain is in control of our?

nervous system and plays a critical role in achieving health

what is the cerebellum responsible for?

regulates muscular coordination

what is the cerebrum responsible fo?

center for information processing

brainstem controls?

heartbeat and respiration

limbic system is?

network of neurons in the brains core

amygdala is responsible for?

emotion, agression

what is hippocampus responsible for?

spatial orientation, learning, memory

whats the hypothalamus responsible for?

influences hunger, thirst, body temperature, and sexual behavior

somatic nervous system are nerves that?

carry messages from sensory organs such as eyes, ears, to the CNS and then to our muscles and glands

autonomic nervous system are nerves that?

nerves that link the CNS with the heart, intestines, and other internal organs

what are the structures of endocrine system?

a complex network of glands and organs, particularly the pituitary, adrenal and thyroid glands and the pancreas

whats the function of the endocrine system?

endocrine glands release hormones into the blood steam to regulate bodily functions

what do the hormones do?

bind to receptors that either stimulate or inhibit organ functions

where is the pituitary gland?

alongside the hypothalamus

what does the pituitrary gland act as?

a master control system of the endocrine system

what does the pituitary gland secrete?

hormones that influence other glands and processes related to growth, sexual development, reproduction and aging

what does the adrenal gland secrete?

secrete hormones that play a crucial role in the body’s response to stress and emergencies

thyroid gland helps regulate?

growth and metabolism; pancreas regulates blood and glucose

what are the structures of the cardiovascular system?

heart, blood, and blood vessels (arteries, veins)

whats the function of the cardiovascular system?

supplies oxygen to all tissues in the body

what are the structures of the respiratory system?

lungs and airways

whats the function of the respiratory system?

enables us to inhale air and exhale carbon dioxide to supply the cardiovascular system with oxygen

what are the structures of the digestive system?

digestive/gastrointestinal tract as well as salivary glands, pancreas, liver, gallbladder

what are the functions of the digestive system?

beaks down food into molecules that can be used for energy, growth, and tissue repair

whats the immune system structure?

a network of capillaries, lymph nodes (glands), and ducts, as well as bone marrow, tonsils, spleen, and thymus

what is the function of the immune system?

defends the body against antigens that can harm health, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, and foreign microorganisms

what circulates throughout the lymphatic system to patrol the antigens?

white blood cells

during an immune response, what type of white blood cell expands and causes swelling and inflamation?

lymphocytes

what does inflammation do?

inflammation isolates injured tissues, mobilizes the immune response, and promotes healing (essential for survival)

chronic inflammation can be bad or positive?

negative— can damage healthy tissue and lead to health problems

what are health disparities?

preventable differences in health status or outcomes that are due to systemic injustice and oppression of groups of people based on their social identities

are health disparities preventable?

yes

what causes health disparities?

due to social injustices

what are some aspects that influence health disparities?

•Access to resources (healthcare, insurance, education)

•Neighborhoods (redlining, pollution, food deserts)

•Federal policy (who gets insurance)

•State policy (where abortions are legal)

•How doctors treat patients interpersonally

what are some populations that deal with health disparities?

•Gender (women, transgender people)

•Race and Ethnicity (Hispanic or Latino; Black or African American; Asian; American Indian or Alaskan Native; Middle Eastern; Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander)

•Nationality (undocumented people, immigrants)

•Socioeconomic status (fewer years of education; lower income; no health insurance)

•Sexual orientation (LGBQA+)

•Geographical location (rural, some urban areas)

•Disability (people with physical or mental disabilities)

women have more what than men?

greater disease burden but live longer than men

black americans live how long compared to white americans?

shorter than white americans

immigrants in the US are more likely to be what compared to US born individuals?

uninsured

lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals experience what more than cis gender individuals?

worse mental and physical health

people who live in rural areas have less what than those who live in urban areas?

less access to health care services

people with disparities receive what than people without disabilities?

poorer medical care

health disparities tend to?

intersect and are mostly social constructs

what is intersectionality?

the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender as they apply to a given individual or group regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage

transgender people are how many more times likely than cisgender people to be victims of violent crimes?

four times

what are the goals of health disparities?

document patterns of health disparities, to understand how and why they exist, to identify ways to reduce disparities and promote health equity through science, policy, and practice

whats the minority stress theory?

“minority stress” is an additional layer of stress that uniquely impacts LGBTQ individuals’ health; minority stressors are unique, chronic, and socially based

how can maslow’ s hierarchy of needs help explain health equity?

can help explain how sociocultural disadvantage prevents individuals from engaging in certain behaviors and from achieving their full potential