Chapter 1: Introducing Health Psychology

mind-body dualism

"Cartesian dualism" based on doctrine that humans have two natures (mental & physical)

health psychology

The application of psychological principles and research to the enhancement of health and the prevention and treatment of illness

Humors

Four body fluids - blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile If humors are out of balance, both mind & body were affected in predictable ways

René Descartes (1596-1650)

French philosopher and mathematician Best known for his beliefs that the mind and body are autonomous processes that interact minimally and that each is subject to different laws of causality viewpoint known as mind-body dualism

Wilhelm Roentgen (1845-1923)

German physicist who discovered X-rays (roentgenograms)

immigrant paradox

The finding that, although low socioeconomic status usually predicts poor health, this is not true for Hispanics and other ethnic groups in the United States also called Hispanic paradox or Latino paradox

massification

The transformation of a product or service that was once only available to the wealthy such that it becomes accessible to everyone. Applied to education and health, it is the idea that college can benefit everyone.

public health psychologist

investigate the impact if public health programs

Qi or Chi

vital energy or life force that flows with changes in each person's mental, physical, and emotional well-being acupuncture, herbal therapy, tai chi, mediations, & other interventions are said to restore health by correcting blockages & imbalances in chi

Healthy People 2020 Goals

Attain high-quality, longer lives free of preventable disease, disability, injury, and premature death. Achieve health equity, eliminate disparities, and improve the health of all groups. Create social and physical environments that promote good health for all. Promote quality of life, healthy development, and healthy behaviors across all life stages.

Hippocrates

"Father of medicine" Built the earliest foundation for a scientific approach to healing philosopher & physician between 460-377 BCE first to argue that disease is a natural phenomenon and that the causes of disease are knowable and worth of serious study

Four Goals of Health Psychology

1. to study scientifically the causes of specific diseases (etiology) 2. to promote health 3. to prevent & treat illness 4. to promote public health policy & the improvement of the health care system

Middle Ages

476-1450, between fall of the roman empire and renaissance an era characterized by a return to supernatural explanations of health & disease in Europe medical treatment involved attempts to force evil spirits out of the body

Humoral Theory

A concept of health proposed by Hippocrates that considered wellness a state of perfect equilibrium among four basic body fluids, called humors. Sickness was believed to be the result of disturbances in the balance of humors

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)

A federal law aimed at reducing the number of people in the United States who do not have health insurance, as well as lowering the costs of health care

health

A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being

Select Topic Area Goals & Targets of Healthy People 2020

Adolescent Health Physical Activity Nutrition & Weight Status Injury & Violence Prevention Sleep Health

conversion disorder

Illnesses caused by unconscious emotional conflicts that had been "converted" into a physical form

American Psychological Association (APA)

World's largest association of psychologists with around 152,000 members including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants and students

psychosomatic medicine

a branch of psychiatry that developed in the 1900s and focused on the diagnosis and treatment of certain diseases believed to be caused by emotional conflicts flaws in theory include being grounded in Freudian theory and reductionism laid groundwork for connections between medicine & psychology

birth cohort

a group of people who, because they were born at about the same time, experience similar historical and social conditions

socoeconomic status (SES)

a person's position in society as determined by education, income, and occupation

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

a physician that founded patients exhibited symptoms that could not be explained physiologically created the label conversion disorders

Pathogen

a virus, bacterium, or some other microorganism that invades the body

epidemic

a widespread occurrence of an infectious disease in a community at a particular time.

health literacy

ability to read, understand, and act on health information

William Morton (1819-1868)

american dentists, introduced gas ether as an anesthetic

acute disorder

an illness or other medical problem that occurs over a short period of time communicable diseases; considered treatable today ie. tuberculosis and diphtheria people living 100 years ago were more likely to die from

chronic illness

an illness that lasts a long time and is usually irreversible noncommunicable diseases; not spread by infection and people can live with and manage for years becoming more common in first world countries

Trephination

ancient times through renaissance where wick people were treated with rituals of sorcery, exorcism, or a primitive form of surgery drilled holes in skulls by early healers to allow disease-causing demons to leave body practiced in Europe, Egypt, India, & South America

gender bias

behavior that shows favoritism toward one gender over the other underrepresentation of women as participants in medical research trials can be misdiagnosed

community health psychologist

center work on health of a community as a whole

occupational health psychologists

concerned with the health of people in the workplace

Pandemic

disease prevalent over a whole country or the world

multifactorial

diseases are caused by the interaction of serval factors including host factors (genetic vulnerability or resiliency) environmental factors (exposure to pollutants & hazardous chemicals) behavioral factors (diet, exercise, & smoking) psychological factors (optimism & overall "hardiness"

holistic

do not distinguish separate models for mental and physical illness practiced by groups like Native Americans

Nuclear conflict model

each physical disease is the outcome of a fundamental or nuclear psychological conflict ie. individuals with rheumatoid personality who tended to repress anger and unable to express emotion developed arthritis

John Hunter (1728-1793)

early advocate of careful observation and the importance of applying the scientific method in medicine

Joseph Matarazzo (1982)

first president of the division and laid down the four goals of the new field of health psychology

John Fothergill (1656-1745)

first to identify diseases that affect the nerves and for emphasizing the importance of practicing temperance and self-control in maintaining health

Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564)

flemish anatomists and artists able to publish seven-volume study of the internal organs, musculature, & skeletal systems of the human body

clinical heath psychologist

focus on treating individuals, licensed for independent practices

life-course perspective

focuses on important age-related aspects of health & illness ie. how pregnant women's nutrition, smoking habits, or dug use will affect her child's lifelong development

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)

founded on the principle that internal harmony is essential for good health Chi is fundamental

Louis Pasteur (1822-1895)

french biologists & chemists who conducted groundbreaking research in support of germ theory

Franz Alexander

in the 1940s, advanced the idea that individual physiology conflicts cause a specific disease created a nuclear conflict model helped establish psychosomatic medicine

ethnic groups

large groups of people who tend to have similar values and experiences because they share certain characteristics

Renaissance

late fourteenth century, saw the revitalization of anatomical study & medical practice

William Harvey (1578-1657)

offered first detailed description of circulation of blood and noted emotions were often associated with how the heart functioned

subjecive well being

ours feelings of happiness and sense of satisfaction with life cognitive and emotional evaluations of a person's life

healthy migrant effect

people who choose to leave their native country are healthier to begin with, despite being poor a possible explanation for the immigrant paradox

the biopsychosocial model

recognizes that biological, psychological, & sociocultural forces act together to determine an individual's health & vulnerability to diseases health & disease must be explained in terms of multiple contexts

Etiology

scientific study of the causes or origins of specific diseases

gene-environment effects are importance

some geneses are expressed & affect our health, while some genes are silenced & remain unnoticed from one generation to the next unless circumstances like the quality of nurturing during childhood change

Geomics

study of the structure, function, and mapping of the genetic material of organisms

biomedical model

the dominant view of twentieth-century medicine maintains that illness always has a physical cause follows reductionism & consistent with mind-body dualism according to this model, health is nothing more than the absence of disease working from this perspective focus on investing causes of physical illness rather than on factors that promote physical, psychological, and social vitality

epigenetic

the effects of environmental forces on how genes are expressed

culture

the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next

Germ Theory

the idea that bacteria, viruses, & other microorganisms that invade body cells cause them to malfunction

Ayurveda

the oldest known medical system in the world originated in India (6th Century BCE) based on the idea that the human body represents the entire universe in a microcosm key to health is maintaining a balance between body & world three bodily humors or doshas (Vata, pitta, Kapha) or collectively tridosha

positive health

the scientific study of health assets, which are factors that produce longer life, reduce illness, and increase overall well-being

positive psychology

the scientific study of optimal human functioning; aims to discover and promote strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive

Reductionism

the view that complex phenomena (ie health & disease) are derived from a single primary factor

ecological-systems apporach

the view that nature is best understood as a hierarchy of systems, in which each system is simultaneously composed of smaller subsystems and larger, interrelated systems ie. weakened immune system affects specific organs in a person's body, which affects the person's overall biological health, which might affect the person's relationship with family and friends ie 2. alcohol use disorder (AUD); a maladaptive drinking pattern