Health Psychology

3 criteria for cause effect conclusion

-IV and DV co-vary -Cause preceded the effect -Other plausible causes ruled out

randomized control study

An experiment in which individuals are randomly allocated to receive or not receive an experimental preventative, therapeutic or diagnostic procedure and then followed to determine the effect of the intervention.

incidence

Disease is the number of new cases occurring in a specific period

prospective study

an observational study in which subjects are followed to observe future outcomes

the biomedical model of health

assumes that disease is disconnected from psychological and social processes

people least likely to respond to our efforts to improve their health would be those who believe that

genes or family history

How to formulate a hypothesis

Research hypothesis is formulated based on predictions from theory or model -testable -a priori (before data collection) If data provide no support for RH, explain what could have happened -Rationale for future research

longitudinal study

Research in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period

mixed method approach

Research that uses quantitative and qualitative

The biopsychosocial model of health

Both a and c are correct Allows a systems interpretation of factors affecting illness and injury is more complex than the biomedical model

epidemiology

Branch of medical science concerned with the incidence, distribution, and control of diseases that are prevalent among a population at a special time and are produced by some special causes not generally present in the affected locality.

Culture Shock

Emotional upheaval and even illness due to significant changes in living conditions. It particularly occurs when people experience a drastic change in their surroundings due to immigration or forced migration to new geographical areas. Another example is moving from a rural area to an urban area.

Correlations of variables are more likely to be used in all of the following except

Experimental studies

Proof and Disproof in science

-proving RH is logically impossible -disproving RH is practically impossible DO NOT use the word "prove -- you are either providing or not providing support for your RH

What are the 3 main goals of health behavior research?

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What are the roles of responsibility for health in explaining various health outcomes?

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What are the goals of health behavior research?

1) Describe health behaviors and outcomes 2) To predict HBO 3) To explain HBO

What are the characteristics of experiments? What makes research scientific

1) Review the literature and write a hypothesis 2) Identify, define, and operationalize variables 3) Obtain Approval for the Research 4) Recruit Participants or Subjects 5) Randomize Membership in the Control and Experimental Groups

What makes research Scientific?

1)Systematic Empiricism must rely on observations to draw conclusions 2) Public verification -Findings must be observed, replicated, and verified by others 3) Solvable Problems -Questions need to be answerable given current knowledge and research techniques

Health as defined by the World Health Organization

Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

mortality

A measure of deaths in a given population, location or other grouping of interest.

Biomedical Model of Health

A narrow perspective that includes the idea that illnes and injury are biological problems with biomedical solution. People who hold this view assume that when someone is ill or injured only the physical self is affected and must be treated.

correlational research

A research strategy that identifies the relationships between two or more variables in order to describe how these variables change together. One advantage is that it helps psychologists make predictions.

observational study

A study in which no variables are manipulated as they are in experiments; the researcher is simply observing is simply observing what occurs, such as watching a group of children to see how they share toys. When people know they are being observed, they may change their behavior.

cross-sectional study

A study in which people of different ages are compared with one another

morbidity

A term refering to the state of being diseased (including illness, injury, or deviation from normal health); the number of sick persons or cases of disease in relationship to a specific population

validity

Ability of a test to measure what it is supposed to measure and to predict what it is supposed to predict

reliability

Ability of a test to yield very similar scores for the same individual over repeated testings

Leading cause of death in US

Heart Disease, Cancer, Chronic Lower Respiratory disease, Poor health

Systems Theory

An approach to human events, such as injury and illness, including the idea that events occur and exist within several interconnected systems. Each system influences the others. System theory in health psychology includes the idea that medical providers, patients, family members, and friends need to consider the total situation and think about many different factors when dealing with an illness or injury.

Health Psychology is best defined as

Improving health and safety, preventing illness and injury, and rehabilitation

Model

In health Psychology, a model is a set of statements explaining the relationship between factors or variables contributing to some phenomenon. For example, a model may include principles constructed to explain the human behavior of regular aerobic exercise or the behavior of choosing to be vaccinated against a disease. An example is the health belief model. A model is less formal than a theory.

theory

In health psychology, a theory is a set of related statements or propositions from which hypotheses can be developed for research purposes; theories organize and explain observations

qualitative research methods

Types of research used to assemble data measures that are not numerical such as people gender, their perception about their health risks, or factors affecting that perception

quantitative research methods

Types of research used to assemble numerical data about a variable; one example of a quantitative variable is age

Observational Research

Non experimental research -descriptive - prevalence -correlational - relationships between variables

Health as used in this class is defined as

a positive state of physical, mental, and social well-being

hypothesis

a prediction about a relationship between variables.

theory

a set of propositions that attempts to specify the interrelationships among a set of concepts (how and why)

health psychology

a specialty applying psychological principles to the scientific study of health, illness, and health related behaviors. It is specifically aimed toward a broader understanding of health, illness, injury, recovery, and the impact of each on human life. knowledge developed in this field includes psychological, social, and cultural influences on the development, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of ill and injured people. Health psychologist are also interested in the prevention of illness and injury and in health policy formation. It is a field of study within the general discipline of psychology.

placebo

a treatment or substance believed to be ineffective by researchers that may contribute to positive changes in research participants due to their beliefs about its effectiveness. The placebo effect must be taken into account when designing experimental research

health behavior

an action taken by a person to maintain, attain, or regain good health and to prevent illness. Health behavior reflects a person's health beliefs. Some common health behaviors are exercising regularly, eating a balanced diet, and obtaining necessary inoculations.

placebo effect

an outcome or result attributed to a person's belief. For example, physicians gave participants sugar pills to encourage their recovery from an illness. If the patient believed the placebo would help them, it usually did. The placebo effect is a difficulty in experimental research

variable

any factor used in research that can diverge or take more than one form, such as age or gender

Descriptive Research

are systematic, but less focused on discovering casual factors than on finding conditions or situations that contribute to outcome such as obesity, depression, stress, or lung cancer.

Model

attempts to describe how concepts are related but not why

retrospective study

data are collected from the past by going back in time

the goals of health behavior research are to

describe health behaviors and outcomes to predict health behaviors and outcomes to explain health behaviors and outcomes all three are correct

Experimental research

determines whether certain variables (IVs) cause changes in behavior, thought, or emotion (DVs)

Quasi-experimental

effects of naturally occurring events

data

information assembled about variable. the word data is plural, and the word datum is singular.

Non-experimental methods are suitable when

it is not possible, feasible, or ethical to manipulate IV -An association between variables needs to be examined

experimental learning

learning through personal experience or activity rather than reading or being formally taught by an instructor

social and cultural health

normal functioning within a culture including having friends and family members for interaction and social support.

descriptive studies and correlational studies are examples of

observational research

an example of variable is age, an example of variable is gender

quantitative. qualitative

research is scientific if it is based on

systematic empiricism public verification solvable problems all three are correct

illness behavior

the manner in which individual monitor the structure and functions of their own bodies, interpret symptoms, take remedial action, and make use of health care facilities

prevelance

the percentage of a population that is affected with a particular disease at a given time

biopsychosocial model of health

the perspective that illness and injury have biological, psychological, and sociocultural components. from this perspective diagnosis and treatment decisions should take into account all three aspects

replication

the practice of repeating scientific studies to affirm accuracy of study results

operationalization

the process of defining a variable by stating precisely how it will be measured in a study

independent variable

the variable that is viewed as a cause affecting another variable within a hypothesis

dependent variable

the variable that is viewed as the probable result of the independent variable

self-selection bias

when participants decide to opt into a social science study as a respondent or are allowed to choose between being in the experimental group or the control group, this may affect the accuracy of research results. Making the choice risks the inclusion of an important bias or prejudice that might invalidate study results. Random selection of participants makes study results more likely to be accurate.