Health Psychology: Psych Topic Test 2

Health Psychology

The field aimed at understanding the psychological influences on how people stay healthy, why they become ill and how they respond when they do get ill

What is the main changing pattern on illness in the 20th century

People are now dying of non curable diseases such as cancer and heart disease instead acute disease such as influenza and pneumonia

The development of illness

Refers to psychological and social factors playing a role in developing these illnesses

5 key risk factors in relation to non curable disease

Harmful Alcohol Use, Unhealthy Diet, Tobacco, Physical Inactivity, Adverse Social and Environmental Factors

Adjustment to chronic illness

How people are coping with chronic illness including following medical advice, the impact on family and the quality of life and wellbeing

Why are people interested in health psychology

the development of illness, Adjustment to chronic illness, advances in technology and research, expanded health care services, increased medical acceptance

Advances in technology and treatment

genetic testing has been improved to see if people are more high risk for non curable diseases

Expanded Health Care Services

the amount of spending on healthcare has increased, so health psychologists can help people and encourage change to reduce the costs

Increased Medical Acceptance

Health psychologists have become more accepted in the heath system, which leads to collaboration with other health experts

What is health

A complete state of physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or imfirmity

Biopsychsocial Model

Health and illness are the consequences of the interplay between biological, psychological and social factors

Biomedical Model

Has dominated medicine and focuses on biological factors relating to illness

Symptom perception, interpretation, and response

When and how the person decides that they need treatment, for symptoms that they are experiencing

Medical Student Disease

a condition reported by medical students, who perceive themselves to be experiencing symptoms of a disease they are studying

Mass Psychogenic Illness

Widespread symptom perception across individuals even though tests indicate that their symptoms have no medical bias in their bodies or in the environment such as toxic substances

What was the results of the Crichton, 2014 study

The people who watched DVD 1 reported an increase in symptoms and increase in negative moods, while the people who watched DVD 2 reported a decrease in symptoms and increase in positive moods

Placebo Effect

where someone experiences an affect from an inactive substance or fake treatment

What are the five illness perceptions/ representations

Identity, Timeline, Consequences, Cause, Beliefs about Control/ Cure

Identity

the verbal or abstract label people put on symptoms that link them together. For example feeling shivery or having aching joints might make you believe you have the flu

Timeline

The belief around how long a symptom should last. For example, if you thought you had a cold but it’s been a week and it hasn’t gone away. You may feel more inclined to do something about it

Consequences

The belief around the symptom/ treating the symptom might have an affect on your personal life or the future consequences of the symptom so how serious it is

Cause

the idea of factors that you believe bought on the symptom can determine when you seek help

Beliefs around control/ cure

Beliefs around what a person must do to recover and whether the illness can be cured or not

What are the illness perceptions related to:

Seeking and using medical treatment, Engagement in Preventative Behavior, Engagement in self care behavior and treatment adherence and Emotional reactions to illness,

What are the three options when someone recognizes a symptom

They could ignore the symptom and hope it goes away, they could seek advice from others, or they could seek professional help

What are some factors that trigger people to take health related action

When the symptom is painful, and persistent, the age or gender the person is, and social influence