FINAL Final Exam review- Fall 2024

PSY255 - Fall 2024 Final Exam Review

Exam Overview

  • Approximately 45 multiple-choice questions

  • Lectures from Weeks 9, 10, 11, 12, & 14

  • Chapters to focus on: 3 (Transtheoretical Model), 6, 7, & 11

Chapter 5: Health Compromising Behaviors

Important Concepts to Study

  • Health-Compromising Behaviors:

    • Definition: Activities that pose risks to health and well-being.

    • Examples and common occurrences.

  • Obesity:

    • Risk factors for obesity.

    • Treatments and potential risks associated with treatments.

  • Eating Disorders:

    • Definitions of various disorders.

    • Theories linking personality to eating disorders.

  • Substance Use:

    • Definitions and current trends.

    • Drug dependence.

Health Compromising Behavior

  • Activities with a frequency or intensity risking individual health or well-being.

Environmental & Biological Factors

Environmental Influences

  • Social Learning Theory: Emphasizes the impact of social context on behavior choices.

  • Built Environment: Factors like neighborhoods and accessibility of resources (parks, food).

Biological Influences

  • Genetics: Weight is estimated to be 40% - 70% genetically influenced.

  • Hormones: Leptin plays a role in appetite regulation.

Treatments for Obesity

  • Aim for weight loss and maintenance through energy balance.

  • Caution against drastic calorie cutting → risk of caloric hoarding.

  • Importance of behavioral changes and social support.

  • Weight-loss surgeries: extreme treatment options.

Eating Disorders

  • Anorexia Nervosa: Self-induced starvation and weight loss.

  • Bulimia Nervosa: Cycles of binging and purging.

  • Binge Eating Disorder: Binging without purging.

Personality and Eating Disorders

  • Predispositional Model: Personality traits may predict risk for eating disorders.

  • Complications Model: Personality traits can result from eating disorders.

  • Common Cause Model: Underlying factors cause both personality issues and eating disorders.

Drug Dependence (Addiction)

  • Addiction: Physical state dependency on drugs for normal functioning.

    • Tolerance: Need for increased doses for desired effects.

    • Withdrawal: Physical and emotional crises upon abrupt drug removal.

  • Drug Dependent: Refers to reliance, either physical or psychological.

Substance Use Trends

  • Increase during adolescence, peaking in early adulthood.

  • Decrease in cigarette use, most illicit drugs, and alcohol in grades 8-12.

  • Current drug use among teenagers down to 9.4%, with marijuana as the most commonly used illicit drug.

Stress and Coping (Chapters 6 & 7)

Important Topics

  • Major concepts: Health, wellness, coping, and stress types (acute & chronic).

Understanding Stress

  • Stress: Mind and body’s response to stressors (real or imagined threats/events).

  • Stressors can be internal (thoughts, beliefs) or external (loss, change).

Types of Stress

  • Acute Stress: Rapid onset and short duration.

  • Chronic Stress: Lasts 12 months or more.

  • Eustress: Positive stress that motivates action.

  • Some stressors can present both acute and chronic features.

Other Dimensions of Stress

  • Negative events lead to greater distress than positive events.

  • Ambiguous, uncontrollable, or unpredictable events are perceived as more stressful.

Autonomic Nervous System and Stress Response

  • Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS): Activates body functions in response to stress.

  • Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS): Regulates basic bodily functions, maintaining homeostasis.

Coping Strategies (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984)

  • Definition: Ongoing efforts to manage internal/external demands perceived as taxing.

  • Key elements: Coping is evaluative, learned, requires effort, not dependent on mastery.

Chronic Illnesses (Chapter 11)

  • Chronic Illness: Uncurable diseases lasting a lifetime, causing stress and life changes.

  • Often caused by lifestyle factors such as poor diet, lack of physical activity, tobacco, and alcohol use.

Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change

  • Stages involved: Precontemplation, Contemplation, Preparation, Action, Maintenance.

  • Emphasizes perceptions of pros and cons at each stage.

Behavioral Change Stages

  • Precontemplation: No intent to change; currently engaging in negative behavior.

  • Contemplation: Intends to change in the next 6 months.

  • Preparation: Ready to change in 30 days.

  • Action: Recently started changing behavior for less than 6 months.

  • Maintenance: Behavior change maintained for 6 months or more.

Temptation and Confidence in Behavior Change

  • Assess high-risk situations and avoid them.

  • Self-efficacy influences behavior performance probability.

Processes of Change

Experiential Processes

  • Consciousness Raising, Dramatic Relief, Environmental Reevaluation, Self Reevaluation, Social Liberation.

Behavioral Processes

  • Helping Relationships, Reinforcement Management, Counter Conditioning, Stimulus Control, Self Liberation.

Transitions Between Stages

  • Transition from Precontemplation to Contemplation: Increase in social liberation and consciousness raising.

  • Transition from Contemplation to Preparation: Dramatic relief and reinforcement management increase.

  • Transition from Preparation to Action: Increase in environmental reevaluation and self-reevaluation.

  • Transition from Action to Maintenance: Increase in self-liberation and stimulus control.

Week 14: Multiple Behavior Change

  • Examine behavior change approaches and importance of tailored feedback.

  • Modular Approach: Assess and intervene on > 1 health behavior separately.

  • Integrated Approach: Unifying theme connects multiple health behaviors in intervention.

Conclusions from Project BEST

  • Strong outcomes in behavior change for physical activity, nutrition, and screen time.

  • Effective for both symptomatic individuals and preventative measures.

Clinic-based vs. Population-based Interventions

  • Clinic-based: Wait for participants to seek help.

  • Population-based: Actively reach out to participants.

Importance of Population-Based Approaches

  • Impact = Participation Rate x Efficacy.

  • Example calculations illustrating significant impact with varied participation rates.

Computer-based Interventions

  • Available on-demand, tailored to individual needs, cost-effective, and must be sustained over time.

Exam Info

  • Date: 12/10 (or 12/17 for those who opted for the original date)

  • Location: In-classroom.