Foundations of Health Psychology

Comprehensive practice flashcards covering the Foundations of Health Psychology, including the biopsychosocial model, enactivism, stress mechanisms, and lifestyle medicine.

How is Health Psychology defined in the lecture?

It examines how biological, social, and psychological (biopsychosocial model) factors influence health and illness, using psychological science to promote health, prevent illness, and improve health care systems.

What does the term 'Anemnesis' refer to?

A process where patients' problems are explored in the context of their previous and current situation and history.

What is the core proposal of reductionist models in psychiatry?

They propose a hierarchy between factors, with one factor being primary; for example, the neuroreductionist idea suggests psychiatric disorders are diseases of the brain.

According to the notes, what are the advantages and downsides of the Biopsychosocial (BPS) model?

Advantages include considering patient experiences, environment, and relationships. Downsides include a lack of a clear account of how the 'bio', 'psycho', and 'social' interact, which affects practical application.

What is Enactivism?

A perspective that offers a novel outlook on the relation between body, mind, and world, stating that cognition can only be understood by taking the whole embodied organism and its environment into account.

What is the 'Life-Mind-Continuity Thesis'?

The idea that mind, or sense-making, is central to living, and that living beings are self-organizing unities that maintain themselves through constant exchange with their environment.

In an enactive approach, what kind of relation do body, mind, and world stand in?

A part-whole (mereological) relation.

What is the Hygiene Hypothesis?

The idea that the decreasing incidence of acute infections appears to be contributing to the increase in autoimmune and allergic diseases.

According to the transcript, what are the current obesity and prediabetes statistics in the US?

$84$ million US adults have prediabetes and more than $\frac{1}{3}$ of US adults have obesity.

What are the four main types of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs)?

1. Cardiovascular Disease (CVD), 2. Cancers, 3. Chronic Respiratory Dis., 4. Diabetes.

What defines 'Lifestyle medicine'?

A scope of mainstream medicine using evidence-based lifestyle therapeutic approaches (whole food, plant-based diet, exercise, sleep, stress management, alcohol moderation, tobacco cessation) to prevent, treat, and potentially reverse chronic diseases.

What is 'Allostatic Load'?

Stress-induced physiological wear and tear due to stressful life events that may have a direct measurable effect on morbidity and mortality.

Which five physiological systems are represented by measurements of allostatic load?

1. Neuroendocrine System, 2. Immune/Inflammatory system, 3. Metabolic system, 4. Cardiovascular/Respiratory systems, 5. Nervous System.

What defines Resilience in the context of health psychology?

The ability to thrive and survive despite exposure to adversity, improved by positive appraisal coping, effective regulation, self-efficacy, and strong social support.

What is the significance of treatment adherence in chronic disease patients?

Only $50\%$ of patients with chronic disease adhere to treatment, and poor adherence has significant health and economic implications.

What did research trends show for Health Psychology in the 1970s versus 2010?

In the 1970s, topics focused on doctor-patient relationships, stress, coping, and cardiovascular health. In 2010, the focus shifted to health, mortality, obesity, mental illness, and SES.

What is the role of Neuroplasticity in health behavior?

Neuroscience demonstrates that while environmental stressors create lasting impairments in brain functioning, these effects can be reversible through persistent re-patterning, even late in life.