Chapter 1 What is Health Psychology?

Humors and associated personality type; 1. blood 2. black bile 3. yellow bile 4. phlegm

1. passionate 2. sadness 3. angry disposition 4. laid-back approach to life

Middle ages consisted of what type of explanations and treatment for illness?

God's punishment for evildoing and consisted of driving out evil forces by torturing body

Biopsychosocial model

The view that biological, psychological, and social factors are all involved in any given state of health or illness.

Biomedical model

The viewpoint that all illness can be explained on the basis of aberrant somatic processes (ex. biochemical imbalances or neurophysiological abnormalities) and that psychological and social processes are largely irrelevant to the disease process; the dominant model in medical practice until recently.

Main contributors to disability and death

chronic illnesses

Sigmund Freud's work on conversion hysteria gave rise to the field of

Psychosomatic medicine

Who helped shape the field of psychosomatic medicine and how?

Dunbar and Alexander by offering profiles of particular disorders believed to be psychosomatic in origin, caused by emotional conflicts

Idea that specific illnesses are produced by people's internal conflicts was carried on in the work of..

Flanders Dunbar (1930s) and Franz Alexander (1940s)

Why is the biomedical model ill-suited to understanding illness?

- reduces illness to low-level processes such as disordered cells and chemical imbalances - fails to recognize social and psychological processes as powerful influences over bodily states (assumes a mind-body dualism) - emphasizes illness over health rather than focusing on behaviors that promote health - cannot address many puzzles that face practitioners (ex. why do only 3 people develop the flu, if 6 people were exposed)

Health psychologists focus on

1. health promotion and maintenance -example; how to get children to develop good health habits, promote regular exercise, and design media campaign to get people to improve their diets 2. etiology and correlates of health, illness, and dysfunction -example; addressing behavioral and social factors that contribute such as alcohol consumption, drug use, exercise, the wearing of seat belts, and ways of coping with stress

Why is the biopsychosocial model useful for treating patients?

1. process of diagnosis can benefit from understanding the interacting role of biological, psychological, and social factors in assessing a person's health or illness 2. it makes explicit the significance of the relationship between patient and practitioner, which can improve a patient's use of services, efficacy of treatment, and rapidity of resolving illness

How does the biopsychosocial model of health and illness overcome the disadvantages of the biomedical model?

1. the biopsychosocial model maintains that all factors(biological, psychological, and social) are important determinants of health and illness. 2. both macrolevel(ex. existence of social support or presence of depression) and microlevel(ex. cellular disorders or chemical imbalances) continually interact to influence health and illness 3. the biopsychosocial model emphasizes both health and illness 4. health becomes something that one achieves through attention to biological, psychological, and social needs, rather than something that is taken for granted

Psychosomatic disorders caused by emotional conflicts.

1. ulcers 2. hyperthyroidism 3.rheumatoid arthritis 4. essential hypertension 5. neurodermatitis (skin disorder) 6. colitis 7. bronchial asthma

Psychosomatic medicine

A field within psychiatry, related to health psychology, that developed in the early 1900s to study and treat particular diseases believed to be caused by emotional conflicts, such as ulcers, hypertension, and asthma. The term is now used more broadly to mean an approach to health-related problems and diseases that examines psychological as well as somatic origins.

Health Psychology

A relatively new field devoted to understanding psychological influences on how people stay healthy, why they become ill, and how they respond when they do get ill.

Health

A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. -World Health Organization(1948)

Ancient Greeks were among the earliest civilizations to identify role of bodily factors in health and illness. *Emphasis on mind and body in health and illness was a breakthrough for that time What was their theory and treatment?

Humoral theory of illness- disease resulted when four humors(circulating fluids of the body), blood, black bile, yellow bile, and phlegm, were out of balance. Each associated with personality types. Goal of treatment- restore balance among humors

We now know that ____ illnesses raise _____ issues.

All; psychological. Onset of disease is usually due to several factors working together. -Ex. biological pathogen(viral or bacterial infection), coupled with social(low social support) and psychological(high stress) factors, and low socioeconomic status.

Identify a true statement about the biomedical model. a. it fails to recognize social and psychological processes as powerful influences over bodily estates b. it does not assume a mind-body dualism c. it places significance on an effective patient-practitioner relationship d. it emphasizes health over illness, with a focus on behaviors that promote health

a. it fails to recognize social and psychological processes as powerful influences over bodily estates

Until the 20th century, the major causes of illness and death in the United States were

acute disorders

Dunbar and Alexander maintained that conflicts produce ______, which becomes unconscious and takes a _______ toll on the body via the _____

anxiety; physiological; autonomic nervous system -example: repressed emotions from frustrated dependency and love-seeking needs-> increased secretion of acid in stomach-> eroding stomach lining, producing ulcers

The continuous physiological changes that occur in people as a result of conflict can produce an actual ____ a. moment of moral awakening b. organic disturbance c. ecological disturbance d. placebo effect

b. organic disturbance

According to the humoral theory of illness, disease arises when _______. a. one avoids penance, prayer, and other religious beliefs b. the four circulating fluids of the body are out of balance c. evil spirits enter a body d. the Gods punish a person for evildoing

b. the four circulating fluids of the body are out of balance

According to Freud, specific unconscious conflicts can produce physical disturbances that symbolize repressed psychological conflict. This is known as _______ ________

conversion hysteria - no longer a dominant viewpoint in health psychology but gave rise to the field of psychosomatic medicine.

During prehistoric times, disease was thought to arise when... Treatment consisted of..

evil spirits entered the body exorcise the spirits drill holes in skulls to allow evil spirit to leave body while shaman performed the treatment ritual

Examples of chronic illnesses

heart disease, cancer, and respiratory diseases

Medical practice relies on ______ rather than to the mind as a bases for health and illness.

laboratory findings and bodily factors

Wellness

optimum state of health

What do medical practitioners focus on as the basis of their diagnoses and treatment recommendations?

organic and cellular pathology

Health psychologist examine..

psychological and social factors that lead to the enhancement of health, prevention and treatment of illness, and evaluation and modification of health policies that influence health care

Health psychologists study ..

psychological aspects of the prevention and treatment of illness -example: teach people in a high-stress occupation how to manage stress effectively to avoid health risks or work with people who are already ill to help them follow their treatment regimen

Acute disorders

short-term illnesses, often the result of a viral or bacterial invader and usually amenable to cure

What do health psychologists do?

study issues and develop interventions to help people stay well or recover from illness. -Example: understand why people continue to smoke knowing it increases their risk of disease and develop interventions to help people stop smoking

Health psychologists analyze and attempt to improve the health care system and the formulation of health policy by..

studying the impact of health institutions and health professionals on people's behavior to develop recommendations for improving health care

During prehistoric times, most cultures believed that the ______ and ______ were intertwined.

the mind and body

Why has prevalence of acute infectious disorders declined?

treatment innovations and changes in public health standards, such as waste control and sewage, have improved

Examples of acute disorders

tuberculosis, influenza, measles, and poliomyelitis

When and why did the biomedical viewpoint began to change?

with the rise of modern psychology, particularly with Sigmund Freud's (1856-1939) conversion hysteria