Health Psychology

Biological approach in health

genetics, hormones, immune system

Cognitive approach in health

stress, beliefs, coping

sociocultural approach in health

culture relationships, socioeconomic status

health belief model

explains behavior based on beliefs about risk, severity benefits, and barriers

perceived susceptibility

an individuals assessment of their risk getting a disease or condition

perceived severity

an individuals subjective assessment of the seriousness of a health condition and its potential consequences

perceived benefits

belief in the effectiveness of taking action to reduce risk or seriousness of the condition

perceived barriers

belief in the tangible and psychological costs of the advised action

cues to action

internal/external triggers that prompt action, such as symptoms, family illness or media campaigns

self efficacy

individuals belief in their capacity to act in the ways necessary to reach specific goals

behavior depends on:

attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control

determinism

idea that behavior is caused by factors

ex: stress caused by hormones (cortisol)

reductionism

explaining complex behavior by breaking it down into simpler components

transferability

the extent to which research findings can be applied to other settings, groups, or situations

ex: can results from US students apply globally

fear arousal strategies

using fear to persuade people to change behavior

optimism bias

belief that negative events are less likely to happen to you than others

locus of control

belief about whether outcomes are controlled by yourself or external forces

• internal: “I control my health”

• external: “Luck determines my health”

social cognitive theory

behavior is influenced by observation, environment, and cognition

ex: seeing people exercise motivates you to do the same

vulnerability models

suggest people have biological or psychological predispositions to illness

role of social hierarchies

position in society affects health outcomes

ex: lower socialeconomic statues → increase in health problems

5 factor model

Personality traits:

• openness

• conscientiousness

• extraversion neuroticism

• agreeableness

matched pairs design

participants are paired based on similar characteristics, then split into groups

ex: matching people by age before testing

meta analysis

combining results from many studies to find overall trends

ex: reviewing 50+ studies on stress and illness

participant attrition

when participants drop out of a study over time, which may bias results

roseman et al

Aim: investigate whether type a personality is linked to coronary heart disease

Procedure: 3,000 middle-aged men, assessed personality through interviews, followed participants over 8+ years

results: type a 2x likely to develop heart disease

strengths: shows long-term effects

limitation: low generalizability

cohen et al

Aim: examine whether stress increases susceptibility to illness

Procedure: participants reported stress levels, exposed to cold virus

Results: higher stress → more likely to get sick

Strengths: showed strong cause-and-effect. objective measure (not self-report

Limitations: ethical concerns, lack of ecological validity

Capsi et al

Aim: investigate interaction between genetics and stress in depression

Procedure: Measured genetic variation, stressful life events, and assessed depression levels

Results: If you inherit certain gene and have stress → higher depression risk

Strengths: longitudinal → tracks changes over time

Limitations: hard to isolate all variables

becker et al

Aim: investigate whether beliefs predict health behavior

Procedure: studies mothers’ compliance with children’s treatment, measured beliefs

Results: mothers more likely to follow treatment if they believed illness was serious

Strengths: high ecological validity

Limitations: self-report bias, does not account for other factors