Health Psychology Exam 1

PSYCH 353 UWEC

Heart Disease, Cancer, Accident/ unintentional injuries, Stroke, Chronic lower respiratory disease

What are the 2 leading causes of death TODAY?

Influenza and pneumonia

What were the 2 leading causes of death in 1900?

Heart disease, Cancer, Stroke

What was the leading cause of death in 2000?

Western Biomedicine

- Treatments are designed to cause the opposite effect as that created by the illness

- Searches for the single smallest unit responsible for the illness

- Reliance on technology and the use of complex scientific procedures for the diagnosis and treatment of illness

Health is the absence of disease

What is the definition of health in western biomedicine?

Hippocrates

Who is the father of western biomedicine?

Western biomedicine

Technological innovations-

Pasteur- proved viruses/bacteria cause disease

Roentgen- discovered x-rays

Leeuwenhoek- discovered the microscope

Traditional Chinese Medicine

- Used to treat more people than any other form of medicine

- Each part of the body is intrinsically connected to other parts of the body and to what is happening around the person

*Macroscopic

Health is the balance of yin and yang

What is the definition of health in traditional chinese medicine?

Traditional Chinese Medicine

Sources of illness-

Tao- integrated and undifferentiated whole with opposing forces: yin and yang

Yin- darkness, moon, cold, female (organs that cause great health problems)

Yang- light, sun, hot, male

Qi (energy)- moves within the body in the same pattern it does in nature with each season and with different foods helping to optimize energy flow within the body

Traditional Chinese Medicine

Treatment-

Meridians- unseen channels but embody a form of informational network, associated with organs in the body, what Qi flows through

- can be cleared and have Qi recharged with acupuncture and specific diets

Traditional Indian Medicine

Charaka- Indian sage, described 4 causative factors of mental illness

1- diet

2- disrespect to elders/gods

3- mental shock

4- faulty bodily activity

*Biopsychosocial approach

Health is the harmony between the mind, body, and spirit

What is the definition of health in traditional Indian medicine?

Traditional Indian Medicine

Sources of illness-

- balance of the 5 elements within the body is crucial to maintaining a healthy state

- some diseases recognized as being due to natural changes in the body, genetic predispositions, trauma, gods/demons, the season, or deformities present at birth

Traditional Indian Medicine

Treatment-

- complete inspection of patients, palpating

- purification, diets, HERBS, yoga, massage, acupuncture, meditation, aromatherapy

Mexican American Medicine

Curanderismo- full-time healers within a community

Mexican American Medicine

Sources of illness-

- natural or supernatural causes

- person's energy field if weakened/disrupted

Mexican American Medicine

Treatment-

1) Material- eggs, garlic, religious symbols

2) Spiritual- curandero enters a trance, acts as a medium

3) Mental- relies on the power of the individual

American Indian Medicine

Common practices among nations-

- herbal remedies

- ritual purification

- symbolic rituals

- involvement of healers/Shamans

American Indian Medicine

Sources of illness-

- Human beings and the natural world are closely intertwined

- Spirits promote health or cause illness

American Indian Medicine

Treatment-

- Rituals or ceremonies (sweat lodges)

- Herbal remedies

African American Medicine

- many hold a strong connection with natural and rely on herbalities

Sangoma- spiritual healer

- voodoo practice (black magic)

Complementary and Alternative medicine

- therapies practiced in the absence of both scientific evidence proving their effectiveness and a plausible biological explanation for why they should be effective

Health

-Complete state of physical, mental, and social well-being (WHO, 1948)

Health psychology

-Field devoted to the understanding of psychological influences on how people stay healthy, why people become ill, and how people respond when they get ill

Somatic medicine

-Field that examines mental/emotional causes for physiological symptoms

Behavioral medicine

-Field that uses the application of behavior therapy techniques to the prevention and treatment of medical and psychosomatic disorders AND the treatment of undesirable health behaviors

Medical model

-Model that emphasizes biological aspects to a certain situation

-INDIVUDUAL

-Assumption that the person's ailment is caused by something biological, therefore a biological treatment should be available

Public health model

-Model that emphasizes environmental aspects to a certain situation

-GROUP

Life-process model

-Model that emphasizes free-will, accountability, and ability to make own decisions

-Just say NO!

Biopsychosocial model

-Biological, psychological, and sociological influences on health

Signs

-Signal that something is not right within the body that can be seen by others

-Objective

ex.vomiting, cough

Symptom

-Signal that something is not right within the body that is felt only by the person

-Subjective

ex. pain, fever, loss of smell

Disability

-Refers to a deterioration in biological functioning that results from illness (biological)

-Health-compromising

Health

A complete state of physical, mental, and social wellbeing: WHO (1948)

Walter Cannon

Stress Theory

- Stress as a stimulus "stressor"

- Coined the 'fight or flight' response

-Cannon-Bard theory of emotion

Stressors for Cannons Theory

-Catastrophic events

-Chronic conditions

-Natural disasters

Cannon-Bard theory of emotion

-Theory that states that when presented with a stimulus that elicits emotion, there is a physiological response and emotion simultaneously

ex. Fire alarm (Fear and jump)

Hans Selye

Stress Theory

- Stress as a response "strain"

- General adaptation syndrome (GAS): response to a stressor

General adaptation syndrome (Selye)

Alarm- body prepares to resist the stressor

Resistance- resources directed towards the stressor to fight it (depends on duration/intensity)

Exhaustion- resources to combat the stressor are depleted, more susceptible to disease

Richard Lazarus

Stress Theory

- Stress is not solely determined by the even itself, but by an individual’s subjective cognitive interpretation of the event’s demands relative to their perceived resources available

Type of Appraisals (Lazarus)

Primary, secondary, and reappraisal

Hassel

-Small, periodically occurring events that may increase stress

ex. laundry, dishes

Uplifts

-Small positive daily events that can decrease stress

ex. coffee, finding money

Shelley Taylor

Stress Theory

- Tend and Befriend theory

Tend and Befriend theory

-Theory that caregivers develop additional stress responses to protect, calm, and support a child and rely on others for connection and support

Medium stress=Optimal performance

Is stress always bad?

Learned helplessness

-Scenario with the three individuals in rooms being shocked

-Behavior exhibited by a subject after enduring repeated aversive stimuli beyond their control

Type A behavior

-excessive competitive drive

-high aggressiveness

-intense sense of time urgency

-long list of things to do

-never enough time to get things done

-easily frustrated when events prevent them from making progress

-tend to get little satisfaction when a task is completed

Coronary disease

Type A behavior-

- high blood pressure and heart rate

- hostility and anger

Related to?

Polygraph

Physiological stress measure

- reads blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and skin conductivity

Biochemical measure

Physiological stress measure

- saliva or urine

- cortisol: Major Stress Hormone

- norepinephrine and epinephrine

Life stress inventory

Survey stress measure

- The social readjustment rating scale

- Rank order of event and magnitude of stress

Death of spouse (value of 100)

Divorce (value of 73)

* DOESN'T account for individual differences

Stressor (Cannon)

A stress that induces a response

Strain (Seyle)

A non-specific physiological response in the presence of a stressor

Appraisals (Lazarus)

How we would deal with these discrepancies between the perceived demands and perceived resources

Oxytocin and Endorphins

The tend and befriend theory by Taylor is mediated by what hormones?

Prediction or Control

Jobs ranked high in stress like nurses and doctors have a lack of what?

Polygraph and Biochemical measures

While these are objective measures and quantifiable they are not limited to stress

Limitations of the biomedical model

Explains illness only through biological malfunction and ignores behavior and context

Meaning of Well-being in health psychology

Multidimensional state including emotional, social, cultural and environmental wellness

Why Behavior matters for health

Leading causes of death are influenced by behavior, making psychology essential to prevention

Health disparities

Differences in health outcomes across groups due to structural and social factors

Social Ecological Model

Framework showing how individual, interpersonal, community, and societal factors shape health

Role of culture in health psychology

Culture shapes beliefs, coping, social support, and health behaviors

Intersectionality

Idea that overlapping identities interact to influence health risks and resources

Examples of structural factors affecting health

Police, discrimination, neighborhood conditions, and access to care

Purpose of health behavior

Explain how beliefs and motivations influence health

Positive Psychology

Field focused on strengths, resilience, meaning, and factors that help people thrive

Connection between health psychology and positive psychology

Both emphasize how strengths and wellbeing support physical health and coping

Stress in health psychology

Process involving stressors, appraisal, and biological, emotional, and behavioral responses

Primary appraisal

Evaluate if the event is stressful or not

• Benign Positive: Not harmful or stressful to us/desirable

• Irrelevant: The situation does not apply to us

• Stressful

Secondary Appraisal

Evaluate how to handle the situation

• Questions to ask (and take inventory):

  • What are the resources we have available

  • How may the resources be implemented

Acute stressor

Short term, time limited stressor

Chronic Stressor

Ongoing, persistent stressor

Traumatic Stressor

Severe, unexpected event that may threaten life or safety

Sympathetic nervous system response

Activates fight or flight through epinephrine and norepinephrine

HPA axis function

Releases cortisol to mobilize energy during stress

Allostatic load

wear and tear on the body from repeated or chronic stress

Direct effects of stress on health

Disrupts immune, cardiovascular, sleep, and hormonal systems

Indirect effects of stress on health

Influences behavior like diet, substance use, exercise, and adherence

Problem focused coping

Taking action to change or manage a stressor

Emotion-focused coping

Managing emotional responses when the stressor cannot be changed

Meaning focused coping

Finding purpose or positive meaning in stressful experiences

Types of social support

Emotional, informational, and practical support

Minority stress

Chronic stress from discrimination, stigma, and microaggressions

Intersectionality and stress

Overlapping identities shapes exposure to stress and access to resources

Resilience

Ability to adapt and recover, shaped by personal and contextual resources

Health Behavior

Action that influences health, including preventive, risk, or illness-related behaviors

Perceived susceptibility

Belief about how likely one is to experience a health problem

Perceived severity

Belief about how serious the consequences of a condition would be

Perceived benefits

Belief that a behavior will reduce risk or improve outcomes

Perceived barriers

Belief about obstacles that make a health behavior difficult

Cues to action

Triggers that prompt a person to engage in a health behavior

Self-efficacy in health behavior

Confidence in one’s ability to perform a health behavior

Behavioral intention

Key predictor in the Theory of Planned Behavior

Theory of Planned Behaviors

an individual's intention to perform a specific behavior is the primary predictor of actual behavior, influenced by three core components: Attitude, Subjective Norms, and Perceived Behavioral Control

Subjective norms

Beliefs about whether important others approve of a behavior

Precontemplation

The individual is not considering behavior change

Preparation

Individual is planning to take action soon