Intro to Psychology

Define psychology

Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and how it dictates and influences our behaviour, from communication and memory to thought and emotion.

Define Health Psychology

aggregate of the specific educational, scientific and professional contribution of the discipline of psychology to the promotion and maintenance of health, the promotion and treatment of illness and related dysfunction

Describe the biomedical model of health

• Focuses on the mechanics of the body – biological problems with biomedical solutions

• Treatments act on the disease, not the person

• Ignores psychological and sociocultural factors that are important in diagnosis, treatment and recovery

• Limiting model

Describe the biopsychosocial model of health

• Body and mind are interdependent and influence each other

• Illness and injury have biological, psychological and sociocultural components

• Diagnosis and treatment should take into account all of the above components

• A more difficult model to apply