health psych exam 4

multiple regulation mode

Ikard and Tomkins- tested the hypothesis that some people smoke to cope with anxiety by counting the number of smokers at various points during a horse race. About 17.5% were smoking before the race; the number climbed to 23.7% during the race and then dropped to 13.2% after the race ended Although some people smoke occasionally to manage negative affect, over time they may become addicted to cigarettes if they come to rely on smoking as their only effective strategy for coping with unpleasant emotions According to the multiple regulation model, the combination of physiological and psychological factors leads to addiction This model predicts that smoking is initially used to regulate emotions but over time how smokers feels becomes linked with how much nicotine they have in their blood Over time, the repeated pairing of smoking and the reduction of a certain bad feeling becomes linked At this point, low levels of nicotine in the blood trigger feelings of anxiety (and a craving for cigarettes) even if the person is not in a stressful situation So, people learn to smoke as a way of reducing the negative feelings that result from a drop in nicotine levels

Screening:

Much of this research is based in the transtheoretical, or stage of change, model of behavior change, and hence it measures not simply whether people engaged in the given screening behavior, but rather whether they moved further along the stages leading to engaging n this behavior Messages that specifically target a given population, or a specific person are more effective at increasing screening than standard messages Messages that specifically target a given population often rely on the use of particular narrators, language, or music, and a more cost-effective approach than personally tailoring messages Personally relevant messages are more effective at motivating people Tailoring to risk factors=increase in screening

Tension-reduction theory

People drink alcohol to cope with or regulate negative moods, including feelings of tension, anxiety, and nervousness Correlational studies were done to show that when one is anxious or upset, the use of alcohol increases Experimental research by Steele and Josephs - compared to those who were sober, students who performed a distracting task and were intoxicated had significantly less anxiety about an upcoming stressful speech they would supposedly deliver on "what I don't like about my body" than those who were not intoxicated

personality

-Anorexics are rigid, anxious, perfectionistic, and obsessed with order and cleanliness. Have high rates of OCD diagnosis. They may seem like the "perfect child" on the outside. A study showed that as compared to normal weight women, they tend to indicate strict standards for attractiveness of their own bodies (lighter weight=good). -Bulimics are depressed and anxious, and used food for comfort. They have struggled with weight issues and have a history of binge eating, weight fluctuation and frequent diet and exercise. They may lack a clear sense of self-identity or have very negative self-views. Whereas anorexia involves extreme levels of control, bulimia involves a lack of control typically during binge eating. Bulimics are more prone to other destructive behaviors such as alcohol abuse, substance abuse, kleptomania then women without an eating disorder. Also may have had history or sexual abuse during childhood.

What are the consequences of obesity?

-Increased risk of hypertension, kidney disease, gallbladder disease, cardiovascular disease, types of cancer, etc. -One of the most common health problems associated with obesity is diabetes. -Obese people tend to suffer from social and psychological consequences such as being less likeable, experience dating problems, earning worse grades, less money, and suffer from negative attitudes. -Study showed that people typically attribute negative attitudes towards obese people because they associate obese people with characteristics such as laziness, sloppiness, and lacking in willpower. Showed that a combination of weight and characteristics such as laziness is what contribute to negative perceptions of obese people.

How do Genetic Factors cause obesity?

-People with one obese parent have a 40% chance of having an obese child, those with two obese parents have a 80% chance of having an obese child as compared to 7% of those without an obese parent. -Cannot solely attribute obesity to genetics as parents who are obese tend to buy and cook fattening foods. -Study of adopted children offered compelling evidence about the link between genetics and obesity. Identical twins are very similar in terms of BMI regardless of whether they are raised together or apart, and are much more similar in BMI than are same-sex fraternal twins. Also there is a much stronger relationship between the adopted childrens' and their biological parent's weight as compared to their adopted parent's weight. Genetic factors appear to predict about 40-70% of the variation in BMI. -New research suggests that genes may influence obesity in a variety of ways such as in influence how much and even what people eat, metabolism, etc. -Although genes do play a role in obesity, they do not totally predict a person's weight because cultural factors and exercise also influence weight.

How Do Biological Factors Lead to Eating Disorders?

-Women with a close relative with an eating disorder are two to three times more likely to experience anorexia or bulimia. -Genetic studies showed that genetic factors may predict bulimia in nearly 55% of cases and that disorders are more likely to appear in both twins of an identical pair than in fraternal twins. -Bulimics have impairments in brain neurochemistry, and less serotonin which cues feelings of fullness (leading to more eating) as compared to anorexics which have abnormally high levels of serotonin as well as leptin (which regulates eating). A possibility of such levels are that these physiological changes are initially caused by irregular eating patterns, but then maintain these irregularities.

Health promotion:

Different people should find different types of health promotion information most convincing, and specifically they should show greater behavior change in response to personally relevant messages People particularly benefit from receiving health-promotion information that matches their specific needs: one size doesn't fit all For example, if someone is good with communication, using some sort of communication intervention would be most beneficial in order to get the person to change - need to go by their strengths People are more responsive to personally relevant health-related messages about alcohol use, nutrition and condom use

Pain management:

People vary considerably on the type of information they want to receive about medical procedures to manage their pain Some people prefer to manage pain by seeking detailed information about the proposed management procedures and to learn as much as possible about what to expect, while others strongly prefer to not think about the procedure and to adopt an "ignorance is bliss" approach - neither seem to be "better," whats important is that people get the type of information they want People who desire high levels of control and information abut their upcoming surgical procedures show lower levels of arousal, stress and anxiety when they receive such info than when they receive little information, whereas those who prefer to know as little as possible show the reverse pattern People also show lower levels of arousal and anxiety when they are given the type of information they prefer (for example, specific or general info) Those with internal locus of control (those who want to actively control and manipulate the environment) show better adjustment after receiving general info People benefit from receiving different amounts of information prior to medical procedures, as well as receiving different types of information For example, patients who were highly fearful of dental procedures in general benefited most in terms of distress (tension, nervousness) from distraction, whereas those who were fearful only in response to specific cues (sound of drill, sight of dentist) benefited most from receiving desensitization training Problem focused interventions (provide info about the surgery, instruments used, steps, etc) lead to the lowest levels of pain and anxiety for those who want lots of information, whereas the emotion-focused intervention (reduce emotion or distress by relaxation and distraction techniques) leads to low levels of arousal for those who want little information

high fear messages

People who receive high-fear messages often report that they are very influenced, but in reality show lower levels of attitude and behavior change than those who receive positive approaches Interestingly, high fear may not be so effective immediately, but could be very effective later on One of the problems with fear appeals is that they create considerable anxiety, which in turn can lead to a constriction of cognitive processing, resulting in marked interference with learning, attention, and comprehension

quitting smoking

People who smoke less than a pack a day, have fewer smoking friends, have less stress, have higher levels of education and are employed, have self-confidence in their ability, perceive the negative effects of smoking, have intrinsic motivation are more successful in quitting Women have more trouble quitting than men People who are more concerned about gaining weight had a quit rate of 21% compared to 13.1%

nicotine regulation model

extends the fixed-effect model by predicting that smoking is rewarding only when the level of nicotine is above a certain "set point" in the body Individuals need to smoke enough cigarettes to maintain a certain amount of nicotine in the bloodstream or they don't experience the physiological effects of smoking

social influence programs

inform teenagers of the immediate physiological and social consequences of smoking, like the financial cost, rejection by potential dating partners, and having stained teeth and bad breath, and appeal to adolescents desire for independence by pointing out the manipulative nature of cigarette ads - the underlying message is that people who buy cigarettes are giving into advertisement, whereas those who refuse to smoke are independent and self-reliant, and they emphasize that many adolescents are against smoking (adolescents tend to overestimate the number of others who are engaged in risky behaviors, and they believe that others have more favorable perceptions of the behaviors), and finally the social influence programs are typically presented by desirable role models Emphasizing minor but short term consequences is more effective in changing attitudes

The internal-external hypothesis

one of the earliest hypotheses which states why and when people eat. According to this view, people often fail to listen to internal cues (hunger) and instead pay attention to external cues such as food taste, smell, and variety. External cues lead us to overeat, eat when you're not hungry, and even avoid eating. Also this theory states that normal people are able to exercise better discipline as compared to obese people when external prompt for eating are present, such as being in the presence of a TV advertised food when not even hungry. Research showed that obese people show a close connection between the external circumstances of eating and amount eaten, whereas for normal-weight people, the close connection is between their physiological state and amount eaten. For example, in a study where participants were given a good tasting vanilla flavor of ice cream and a poor one that tasted like ****, obese people ate more of the good tasting one than did normal subjects. Recent research provides little support for this theory because even normal weight people are not good at interpreting internal signals for hunger such as low blood sugar, stomach pains, calories eaten and calories needed to maintain weight, but there is some evidence that external cues can lead to overeating and potential weight gain (girls at summer camp with frequently received fattening care packages gained weight).

Benefits of drinking in moderation

(studies show that those who drink in moderation have better health than those who don't drink at all) (Moderate drinking = 3 to 5 drinks a day) A study showed that nondrinkers and moderate drinkers had a similar death rate; heavy drinkers had the highest death rate, and light drinkers (2 or fewer drinks per day) had the lowest death rate (nearly half the rate of the heavy drinkers) Alcohol increases the rate of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) which in turn helps protect from heart disease Moderate also increases bone density, protects from heart attack and blood clot, and lowers rates of depression

What leads young people to smoke their first cigarette?

1 - Teenagers may start to smoke as a way of trying out a new identity Although teenagers may hold some negative views about smokers, they also see smokers as cool, tough, rebellious, mature, and more interested in the opposite sex Advertisements for cigarettes often promote smokers as having precisely these qualities Celebrities can also serve as role models - seeing them smoke can promote that behavior in the adolescents 2 - The media contributes to smoking in party by portraying smoking as glamorous and cool For example, in 50 G-rated movies tobacco was present in the movie "good characters" are as likely to use tobacco as "bad ones" After exposure to smoking in feature films, teenagers see smokers as higher in social status and their intentions to smoke increase 3 -Teenagers who smoke also seem to have distinct types of personalities Adolescents who smoke often engage in other risk-taking behaviors, like alcohol and drug use and sexual activity with multiple partners Adolescents who smoke tend to be extraverted and spend considerable time socializing with friends However, adolescents who smoke show higher rates of depression 4 - A factor that may prompt smoking in girls is a concern about weight A study of over a thousand 7th to 10th grade girls found that girls who were trying to lose weight and who had symptoms of eating disorders were more likely to smoke than those without such concerns 5 - social factors, including modeling and peer pressure, may contribute to smoking Most first smoking occurs in the presence of a peer, and adolescents who start smoking usually have friends, or siblings who smoke

Personality of alcoholics

Alcoholism is associated with high rates of anxiety, antisocial and borderline personality disorder, and extroversion Support for the link between personality traits and alcoholism is primarily found in correlational studies-problem is that they examined people at a specific time so they don't know the exact cause of alcoholism

eating disorders

Many women engage in some type of disorder eating. 82% of women engage in some form of dieting behavior at least once daily, 33% engage in some form of destructive weight loss at least once a month, and 38% had problems with binge-eating behavior.

Mood regulation

People may eat more during exams and when experiencing stress, anxiety, and depression. One study showed that those who were the stress of receiving the most severe shocks, ate the most peanuts. Most studies show mixed results, and overall show that stress can lead to overeating (those who are obese or who trying to lose weight) but stress doesn't lead everyone to overeat.

Indirect health problems of alcoholics

Reduces the association between attitude and behavior, so people are more likely to engage in behaviors that are not in line with their actual beliefs which may include unsafe sex, drunk driving, and accidents Alcohol abuse impairs judgment, so people aren't able to think rationally as they could when sober

Self-management strategies

focus on identifying those situations that lead people to smoke and then teaching people strategies to resist temptation In the initial stage, the emphasis is on strengthening the motivation to quit , setting a date to quit, and monitoring one's smoking pattern Once people understand the situations that lead them to want to smoke, they can avoid those situations People must practice response substitution, or choosing another way to handle situations that lead them to want to smoke For example, a person might go for a walk after dinner instead of smoking or chew gum whenever he or she feels like smoking

aptitude-treatment interaction

Different people respond in different ways to different types of information According to the interactionist or "aptitude-treatment interaction" perspective, people are more responsive to personally relevant information; people are more likely to read, remember, comprehend, and discuss personally relevant messages, and they perceive these messages as more interesting, likable, and in line with their attitudes They also have more positive thoughts about the material, make more personal connections to the material, develop stronger intentions to change their behavior, and mare more likely to be successful in their behavior change efforts Given these findings, researchers have created messages that are tailored to an individuals particular needs and goals, as well as messages that are targeted to specific characteristics of a group of people

How do psychological factors influence eating (and overeating)?

Genetic and biological factors don't account for all influences of what we eat because sometimes we eat when we're nervous, mindlessly when watching tv, when we smell something great, etc.

How is Obesity Treated?

Two main structures to treating obesity: eating less and increasing exercise

Large scale government programs

are also used in an attempt to prevent teenage smoking These programs are a variety of strategies, such as increasing the cost of cigarettes, restricting cigarette advertising, banning smoking in public places, and denying teenagers the opportunity to buy cigarettes These aren't all effective - teenagers don't have trouble buying cigarettes, but lowering the price does help because many teenagers don't have disposable incomes

aversion strategies for alcoholics

create associations between alcohol use and a negative stimulus

What Psychological Factors Lead to Eating Disorders?

cultural norms, social pressure, family dynamics, and personality

Alcoholism

is defined as alcohol consumption that is compulsive and uncontrollable, physically addictive, or habitual and that results in serious threats to a persons health and well-being Alcoholics have a very high tolerance for alcohol, suffer blackouts or memory losses, and experience withdrawal symptoms such as delirium tremens (hallucinations, impaired motor coordination, cognitive disruption) when they stop drinking Thus, alcoholism involves both psychological and physical dependence, whereas problem drinking involves only psychological dependence

Contingency-contracting approaches

is the technique in which smokers give some money to a friend (or therapist), with the understanding that if they are not smoking 6 months later, they get the money back This technique uses the promise of a reward to encourage smoking cessation

The primary prevention strategy

is to prevent smoking in adolescents Although the initial efforts to prevent smoking focused on the negative long-term effects of this behavior (ex dying of lung cancer), these approaches were unsuccessful because: many teenagers who begin to smoke are already of these dangers but perceive them as not personally relevant, and even those who believe they are a risk of various health consequences may perceive the shorter-term benefits of smoking as more important than the distant, long term consequences Most recent smoking prevention programs have therefore focused on providing social influences and/or life skills training Social influence programs include a number of components designed to make them effective in keeping adolescents away from smoking

Bulimia nervosa

involves binge eating followed by purging usually triggered by some type of negative emotion such as anxiety, tensions, or even tiredness. Easier to hide than anorexia because they are usually normal weight. Not fatal, but can cause tearing and bleeding in the esophagus and damage to tooth enamel.

nicotine fixed-effect model

nicotine stimulate reward-inducing centers of the nervous system Nicotine increases the levels of neuro-regulators, such as dopamine, norepinephrine, and endogenous opioids, which in turn lead to better memory and concentration and reduced feelings of anxiety and tension Nicotine has a number of reinforcing physiological effects, including speeding up the heart and relaxing the skeletal muscles These physiological effects lead to simultaneous mental alertness and physical relaxation and these positive effects are reinforcing, so people are motivated to continue smoking in order to experience these physiological benefits → smoking feels good, so people are motivated to continue the behavior

Addiction

refers to the condition in which a person has a physical and psychological dependence on a given substance Addiction is caused by repeatedly consuming the substance, which over times leads the body to adjust to the substance and to incorporate it into the "normal" functioning of the body's tissues

Detoxification

strategy for treating alcoholics the drying out process in which the person withdraws from alcohol completely This process takes about a month and can include severe symptoms, such as intense anxiety, tremors, and hallucinations

bio-behavioral method

(by Pomerleau) also suggests that both psychological and physiological factors lead people to continue to smoke over time This model proposes that nicotine has a number of physiological effects that make people feel good (ex. improves memory and concentration, reduces anxiety and tension) which leads people to readily become dependent on smoking Smokers then become dependent (both physically and psychologically) on using nicotine to experience these positive effects

cultural norms

-Media reinforces this ideal thin image to society. A study of teenage girls showed that the "idea girl" was 5"7 and 100 pounds (anorexic). In another study, media was shown to develop more negative attitudes in girls. -GI Joe study showed that the action figure has become more muscular over time to support the evolution of the "muscular main ideal" over time. -Bathing suit study showed that women who tried on a bathing suit scored lower on a math test as compared to those who tried on a sweater because of negative views on their bodies. There was no difference in men. -Although this ideal is prevalent in the US, it is by no means universal. In other societies where food is scarce, the ideal female body type is heavy (shows sign of wealth, health, and fertile). Also varies in how much emphasis is placed on the thin ideal, african americans have a heavier ideal weight than whites.

social pressure

-Women eat less in order to be more dateable and popular amongst friends. One study showed that sorority sluts who ate much less and engaged in more binge eating were more popular than those who didn't. - Men usually prefer a somewhat larger than women than women assume.

What causes the numerous health consequences of smoking?

1 - nicotine constricts the blood vessels and increases heart rate, cardiac output, and blood pressure → heart becomes overworked 2 - cigarette smoke contains high levels of CO, which reduces the amount of oxygen in the blood and thereby leads to arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) → this increased buildup of plaque in the arteries forces the heart to work harder to pump blood 3 - tars, small particles of residue in smoke, contain carcinogens that lead to abnormal growth of cells in the mouth, throat, and lungs 4 - as smoke repeatedly passes through the bronchial tubes, it disrupts the ability of the cilia to effectively clear the lungs of foreign particles → the carcinogens therefore have consistent contact with the bronchial tubes, which is why lung cancer is one of the most common types of cancer caused by smoking

smoking stat

23.5% of American adults smoke Smoking is much more common in people who have lower levels of education than among those with higher levels Americans and African Americans smoke more than Hispanic Americans who smoke more than Asian Americans Smoking is also more common among peole with lower income Most smokers acquire the habit at a relatively young age, typically before 21

Social learning theory of alcohol

According to Banduras social learning theory, children learn the norms for alcohol use by watching others The media and moves show young attractive people drinking in appealing settings and having a very good time - ads don't show senior citizens drinking while they play shuffleboard Kids who had more awareness of television alcohol advertisements (and could recall the name of the alcohol) had more favorable beliefs about the consequences of drinking and higher intensions to drink as an adult Watching people drink also creates norms that alcohol use is appropriate and desirable People drink more when they are part of a group than when alone, and also drink more when they have friends who drink heavily Longitudinal study showed that friends' drinking behavior was a strong predictor of individuals own future alcohol use, with adolescents who reported higher alcohol use in their friends showing particularly steep increases in their own alcohol use The mere belief that other people are drinking heavily can lead people to drink more - even if this belief is wrong

Cognitive Theory

Alcohol's effect on psychological states and interpersonal interactions is caused at least in part by the physiological effects of alcohol how? Impairs information processing, reduces self awareness, and reduces anxiety Alcohol myopia: the state in which individuals under the influences of alcohol make decisions based on salient short-term concerns while ignoring longer term consequences of their behavior This state occurs because individuals are unable to engage in the complex cognitive processing required to consider the more distant consequences, and instead they base decisions primarily on the more salient and immediate cues Alcohol myopia theory also describes the effects of alcohol on a persons self evaluation - specifically people who are intoxicated often experience "drunken self-inflation" meaning that people who are drinking see themselves in an idealized way

drop out rates for alcoholic programs

Although there are many different methods, more than 50% drop out of treatment and even those who continue, fewer than half of those remain successful over the long term Those who are older, have higher socioeconomic status, have stable employment and social relationships, and have little or no history of other types of history other types of substance abuse are successful in stopping their alcohol abuse

Limitations of the 2 theories:

It shouldn't be that hard to quit because the nicotine leaves the body after a few days; these models ignore environmental pressures that can prompt smoking, like stress and anxiety; and even heavy smokers don't smoke enough to compensate for the decline in nicotine resulting from tolerance, and although nicotine replacement methods ease some withdrawal symptoms, they don't end smokers' cravings for cigarettes

Health consequences of alcohol abuse

Liver damage caused when fat accumulates in the liver and blocks blood flow, which can eventually lead to cirrhosis, a buildup of scar tissue in the liver Alcohol abuse can also have negative effects on the brain and on neuropsychological functioning - about 10% of alcoholics are affected by Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome; symptoms include severe memory problems, disorientation, and drowsiness Heavy drinking can also lead to the development of some types of cancer, including cancer of the liver, esophagus, or larynx Excessive alcohol use by pregnant women has a number of negative effects on the growing fetus including - fetal alcohol syndrome, which is caused by insufficient protein in the mothers diet, can be caused by excess driving during pregnancy and may result in significant problems for the fetus, including mental retardation, growth problems, and nervous system problems

Life skills training programs

are based on the assumption that adolescents who lack self-esteem and self-confidence are at greater risk of smoking These programs provide some of the same components of social influence programs, but they also provide adolescent with general assistance in enhancing self-esteem and social competence, techniques for resisting persuasive appeals, and skills for verbal and nonverbal communication Because kids acquire positive attitudes towards smoking at a very young age, effective programs probably need to include "booster" sessions in high school, focus attention on those who have already smoked occasionally and are therefore at high risk, and asses and provide more personal attention based on students distinct psychosocial needs, as well as start the social influence programs at a much younger age They have also tried to incorporate not smoking into the media; however, research suggests that in order to be effective viewers must see at least 1 nonsmoking ad for every 4 smoking ads they see The problem is that US tobacco industries spend more per person than antismoking campaigns

Fear-based messages

are designed to increase peoples feelings of vulnerability to various health problems, and thereby motivate them to change their behavior As compared to positive messages, negative ones are thought to be more primary, easier to understand, more quickly processed, and more accurately remembered However, it is not always effective in changing peoples attitudes and behavior

What Factors Help Prevent Obesity

-Must begin in childhood because obesity in childhood is likely to lead in obesity in adulthood. -Unhealthy foods were shown in a study to never be used as a reward because it can lead to the "forbidden food" to be more desirable. -One study showed that breast-feeding is one important way to decrease obesity in children. Reasons for this is because babies who are breast-fed learn how to regulate how much the consume because mothers have no way to know when she fed her baby enough tit milk. -Limiting t.v. watching is important in prevent obesity.

family dynamics

-Parents can influence their children's eating behaviors. Women with parents who believe diet is important and are concerned with their weight are more likely to have daughters who practice the same habits. Mothers may not always encourage such behaviors but are still modeling these attitudes and behaviors. -Families of anorexics show parents that are overinvolved, controlling, demanding, and often do not encourages autonomy in their children. A study showed that anorexic patients typically describe their parents as setting high achievement standards and are often disapproving. -Bulimics show less nurturance and support within their family group. They binge and purge to cope with feelings of isolation and stress, in part because they are unlikely to have supportive interpersonal relationships in their families. Findings showed that bulimics are less socially competent, worse at problem solving, and less likely to be a good friend.

-What is Treatment for Eating Disorders?

-People with such disorders rarely seek out treatment because of feeling ashamed and embarrassed to admit their behaviors or because they believe the disorder will just go away. Bulimics feel more out of control about their habits and may seek treatment whereas anorexics feel in control and even proud of their restricted eating, leading to avoided treatment. -Therapy involving a combination of individual and family therapy may help, especially for anorexics who need change in their social environment and must understand that other people do not hold them up to the same high standards. One study showed that family therapy was more effective over individual therapy in increasing weight gain. -Cognitive-behavioral therapy is seen as the most effective treatment for bulimia, which focuses on normalizing patients' eating patterns (encouraging slow eating, regular meals), expanding food choices (by eliminating forbidden foods), and changing their thoughts and attitudes about eating, food, and their bodies (avoid linking self-esteem with weight). Monitoring thoughts, feelings, and circumstances that lead to binge eating and purging and clarifying distorted views of eating, weight, and body shape are used. Also change faulty beliefs ("if i gain one pound ill gain one hundred") and teach the fact that media images of women are illusions. Pairing Prozac with cognitive-behavioral therapy is very effective for bulimia. -One study showed that as compared to supportive-expressive therapy, cognitive-behavior therapy better decreased vomiting, helped in weight gain, and lead to lower rates of depression, higher self esteem, and greater satisfaction with their therapy. -Interpersonal therapy can also be effective by helping identify interpersonal problems that cause stress. -There is a high rate or relapse and the recovery stage is best viewed as a process.

What Approaches Help Prevent Eating Disorders?

-Programs for colleges offer knowledge about the hazards of such disorders. Unfortunately, very little research suggests that interventions targeting large groups of women are effective. Although girls who receive this intense information showed higher scores of knowledge, they did not show changes in their concern about weight. But interventions targeting women at a GREAT RISK for developing eating disorders can be beneficial. Other research suggests that providing strategies for improving body images and reducing concerns about weight using the Internet can be effective in decreasing women's focus on thinness.

Eating less:

-Short term goals are more effective then setting longer-term goals as is monitoring exactly when, what, and where you eat can help reduce calories. Making slight changes in behavior are helpful and focus on changing people's negative or unrealistic views about weight loss. -Operant-conditioning approaches can be used so that people receive some type of reward for adhering to a diet or losing weight. For example, one could treat themselves for meeting their weight goals. -Social influence techniques such as having family, spousal and friends support can help people make changes in diet. Group approaches are especially effective in losing weight because they provide support as well as healthy competition as shown by studies. -Surgical techniques can be used such as stomach stapling, wire shutting a person's jaw so he or she can only drink some fluids, and removing a portion of the small intestine all help. They do not lead to significant weight loss and have unpleasant side effects such as diarrhea and permanent nutritional deficits.

-Increasing Exercise:

-Suppresses appetite, increases metabolism, and increases lean body mass. -Many of the cognitive behavioral strategies used in consuming less calories work effectively in helping people exercise as well. Setting goals, social influences, and operant-conditioning approaches are all successful. -Small, inexpensive efforts such as reminders and prompts, can work to promote exercise. Such as motivational posters posted on malls, train stations, or bus terminals all worked. One study showed that exercise regimen follow ups by phone call also helped promote more exercising. -People follow through with exercise more when it is easily fit into their daily lives and schedules. Ex-exercising at home -Engaging in regular exercise leads to greater physical or psychological well-being such as reduce risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes, lowered blood pressure, and protection against osteoporosis, as well as cancer. These are all based on correlational studies. Experimental studies reveal similar results showing that exercising lead to lower levels of depression and anxiety, and better self esteem. They also showed that exercising can be showed to be a successful drug treatment (led to improvements on a 4 and 6 month follow up study) as well as in better cognitive functioning (brain benefits and memory).

Social cognitive theory:

An individuals self-efficacy, the extent to which a person believes he ors he can engage in a particular behavior, is a powerful predictor of whether that person actually engages in the behavior Many health-promotion intervention programs have focused on increasing peoples confidence in engaging in a given behavior For example, telling a person they are above average academically, will encourage them to do well in school and will give them the confidence to do well Or, giving a tutorial to women on how to use condoms gave them the confidence to use them and as a result, more people used them

Learning theories:

Based on the assumption that behavior is influenced by basic learning processes, like association, reinforcement, and modeling. In turn, health-promotion interventions use a variety of techniques developed by learning theoriests to help people change their behavior For example, in the technique of operant conditioning, desired behaviors are positively reinforced through rewards, whereas undesired behaviors are punished Reinforcements should lead to the continuation of positive behaviors and the avoidance of negative behaviors Behaviors can also be acquired through modeling - can be used by portraying desirable role model to promote a particular behavior

What are some strategies for preventing alcohol abuse?

Early intervention programs focus on detecting people who are at risk of experiencing problems with alcohol use, and providing information, target college students challenging people's beliefs about alcohol use try to influence people's perceptions about how common drinking is among their peers limiting of ability to purchase alcohol Public policy and legal approaches to prevent alcohol abuse attempt to limit the purchase of alcohol or make such abuse seem less desirable in an effort to decrease problem drinking Limitations include: must be 21 or older, limit the number of places where and the times in which alcohol can be bought Other drinking prevention programs focus on promoting the negative effects of alcohol abuse

medium fear messages

Fear messages only work when: they create a moderate level of fear At very low levels, this danger is not seen as very important or very severe, and high levels will make people deny or minimize the threat to cope with anxiety At moderate levels, people will be motivated to protect themselves, because the threat seems relatively likely and severe, but they will not be paralyzed by anxiety and hence unable to act Second, because fear appeals create anxiety, people must be given a specific strategy for handling the anxiety to avoid the motivation to minimize or deny the threat Those who receive highly threatening messages but are told that they can take some specific action to manage the threat show stronger intentions to change their behavior than those who receive messages that frighten them but don't give strategies to cope Fear appeals are also effective when they focus on the short-term, as opposed to the long term consequence Fear appeals may also work when they force people to actually imagine having a particular disease or problem, and thereby lead to a heightened sense of vulnerability

Biological/Genetic Factors of alcoholics

If one member of a same sex twin pair is an alcoholic, the risk of the other twin being alcoholic is twice as great if the twin is identical as opposed to fraternal Adopted children with an alcoholic biological parent are 4x more likely to become problem drinkers than other adoptees A series of studies indicate that people with a particular gene are more likely to become alcoholics than those without this gene, although not everyone with this gene develops alcoholism One reason how this genetic predisposition may lead someone to have problems with alcohol is because they are less sensitive to the effects of alcohol, which then leads to overdrinking People with a family history of alcoholism may also find alcohol more rewarding and less anxiety provoking than those without this predisposition - genetic factors may lead people to experience more positive effects of alcohol use and fewer negative consequences Some research suggests that genetic factors may influence personality, which in turn leads to alcohol abuse

health-promotion messages: facts

Many health-promotion messages simply provide the facts about a given behavior, with the hope that giving people the information will motivate change Unfortunately, this isn't a sufficient motivator of behavior change In sum, although providing people with information about health behavior does increase their knowledge about such behavior, it is rarely sufficient to lead to behavior change

Alcohol:

Men are more likely to drink, as are European Americans Although smoking is more common among people with lower levels of education, the reverse is true in terms of alcohol use People who have a problem with alcohol drink heavily on a regular basis, are psychologically dependent on alcohol, experience loss of memory while drinking, and suffer social and occupational impairments from their drinking Of those who are problem drinkers, about half are alcoholics

effects of high fear messages

Moreover, because engaging in a behavior known to be risky makes people feel bad, people who receive threatening and personally relevant messages may ignore, deny, and minimize the threat - try to justify behavior Another way of reducing fear is by seeing the problem as more common - - all this evidence suggests that fear based appeals can hae some unintended and even dangerous side effects

What is Obesity

Most common measure of obesity today is body mass index (BMI), which is calculated by dividing a person's weight (kg) by the person's height (m) and squaring the sum. -BMI 19-24=ideal -25-29-moderately overweight -greater than 30=obese

Limitation of Tension-reduction theory

Not all people consume alcohol to reduce tension - this reliance on alcohol to cope with negative events is particularly likely for men and for those who have fewer other coping skills This theory also ignores the often powerful role of peoples expectations about the consequences of alcohol use, which may have a greater impact on heavier than actual alcohol use (people who think they are drinking alcohol show a greater loss of control, regardless of whether they are truly drinking alcohol) This theory focuses only on the use of alcohol to cope with negative events and thereby fails to explain the use of alcohol to celebrate positive events; people often report drinking to enhance or intensify positive emotions as well as drinking more on days with positive interpersonal events, like being complimented and feeling cared for

How does having friends who smoke lead to smoking?

One possibility is that teenagers who see smoking in a positive way choose to have friends who also see the benefits of smoking Teenagers may also feel pressure to smoke in order to fit with particular peer groups Having friends who smoke can also encourage smoking my simply providing more access to cigarettes Although social modeling by and pressures from peers are powerful influences during adolescence, parents attitudes and behaviors also influence whether teenagers smoke Those whose parents smoke are more likely to smoke when they become adults In contrast, children who see their parents as strongly antismoking are 7x less likely to smoke than those who see their parents as not strongly against smoking

nicotine study

One study by Schachter provided smokers with either low-or high-nicotine cigarettes; researchers then counted how many cigarettes the smokers consumed during a 2-week period Result: heavy smokers like the high nicotine cigarettes much more than the low nicotine cigarettes and they also smoked more of the low nicotine cigarettes than the high nicotine ones In contrast, light smokers liked both types of cigarettes equally and showed no difference in the number of cigarettes they smoked Observation: many of the heavy smokers who were (unknowingly) given low-nicotine cigarettes reported feeling especially irritable and anxious This finding suggests that the amount of nicotine does matter, at least for heavy smokers

health promotion messages: emotional

Other health promotion messages provide emotional, as opposed to rational, messages about the consequences of engaging in a given behavior Because people tend to seek pleasant experiences, which help them maintain positive moods, some emotion-based messages have used positive stimuli, like appealing music and attractive people, which are more vivid and memorable than rational ones, especially if the person is not very involved in or concerned about the message Other emotion-based appeals use negative stimuli in an attempt to create the threat of impending danger or harm caused by engaging in particular types of behavior or failing to engage in other types of behavior and thereby attempt to motivate behavior These messages sometimes use scary verbal statements and may show graphic, even disgusting, images

Cognitive dissonance theory:

People are highly motivated to have their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors be in alignment, and when they engage in a behavior that is not consistent with their attitudes, they experience an unpleasant state of psychological arousal known as dissonance Because it is sometimes very difficult to undo a behavior, people often try to resolve this uncomfortable feeling of arousal by changing their attitude to make it correspond with their behavior Stone et.al. -UC-Santa Cruz: students wrote persuasive speeches on safer sex, then reminded of when they failed to use condoms, bought more condoms than those who were in other conditions Also aided in preventing eating disorders Stice et al. -adolescent girls recruited from local high schools to help women improve their body image Those who were in the dissonance-based intervention reported fewer bulimic symptoms

Nicotine

People become physically dependent on tobacco because of the nicotine they ingest Nicotine leads to a number of physiological reactions, like increasing alertness, blood pressure, and heart rate; but these effects are maintained only while there is nicotine in the bloodstream, when it decays these effects are gone→ leads to the issue of tolerance, the more you smoke the higher your tolerance becomes and the more you need to smoke to get the same positive effect from nicotine of feeling better

Prospect theory:

People make very different choices when decisions are presented in different ways, such as in terms of their costs versus benefits For example, you might see a condom as more desirable when they are presented as 90% effective than when they are presented as having a 10% failure rate People are more willing to take risks when they are considering the losses or costs of a particular behavior than when they are considering the gains or benefits of engaging in a behavior - people seem to experience more pain from losses than they do joy from winning Prospect theory also states that gain-framed messages, those that emphasize the benefits of engaging in a behavior, should be more effective than loss-framed messages in promoting prevention behavior Because people should be more wary about taking a risk when considering gain information, they should be more willing to perform a prevention behavior after hearing a message emphasizing the benefits of engaging in a behavior than the consequences of not engaging in the behavior Similarly, the way health practitioners describe different treatment options influences patients preferences - when given the benefits over the costs huh?? this is kinda confusing

Attribution theory:

People try to explain the causes of their own and others behavior; specifically, that people perceive behavior as caused by internal factors or external factors. In turn, behavior that is motivated by internal factors, such as an individuals desire to engage in the behavior, is expected to continue over time. On the other hand, when people engage in behavior that they believe is the result of external pressures from others, they are unlikely to continue to engage in such behavior over time External attributions for the causes of engaging in a particular behavior are associated with poorer adherence to recommendations and poorer maintenance of new behaviors One way to increase the persuasiveness of health messages is by trying to change the attributions people make for engaging in these behaviors Internal attributions show an increase of health-related behaviors External attributions are not conducive to long term engagement in behavior

tolerance

People who are dependent on a given substance also develop tolerance, in which their bodies no longer respond to the same level of a particular dose, but rather need larger and larger doses to experience the same effect They also experience unpleasant withdrawal symptoms, like irritability, difficulty concentrating, fatigue, nausea, and weight gain, when they discontinue using the substance

smoking risks

Smoking is the leading cause of preventable mortality in the US, causing 440,000 deaths per year in the US alone More people die as a result of cigarette smoking than as a result of car accidents, fires, suicides, and homicides combined The risk of developing coronary heart disease and stroke is 2x as high for smokers than nonsmokers for those under the age of 65 Smoking can also lead to a range of other major illnesses, like emphysema, bronchitis, and respiratory infection, as well as minor health problems like impotence and the common cold Passive smoking, or environmental tobacco smoke, is a major cause of respiratory problems in children, including pneumonia and bronchitis, and can potentially lead to death

drunken invincibility

Steele and Josephs- a feeling that a person is invulnerable to the dangers he or she might normally experience (this is why people who know that driving while intoxicated is not a good idea, may believe that they are able to drive "even better" when drunk) Hansen and colleagues - heavy drinkers view the potential negative consequences of drinking, like being arrested for driving under the influence and doing embarrassing things, as much less serious than do light drinkers

Lifestyle and Culture

Study showed that people can eat more when in the presence of other people. This may be attributed to the fact that meals are longer or that we are less sensitive to internal cues for hunger with others (you may eat the same amount as others do regardless of your hunger levels). Culture may influence the types of foods and tastes people enjoy. Taste preferences can even be shaped before we are born as shown by the carrot juice study. This study showed that women in labor who drank carrot juice during pregnancy gave birth to babies who liked the taste for carrots more than those were not exposed to it. Subtle cultural factors also affect the availability and amount of food which contribute to obesity. The U.S. for example has a high abundance of fast food joints and large portions of foods.

problems with quitting

The biggest problem is nicotine withdrawal - they must find an alternative way to get rid of the craving for nicotine with minimal withdrawal effect

Aversive strategies for smoking cessation

are based on principles of classical conditioning - these approaches try to reduce smoking by pairing smoking with some type of unpleasant stimulus Other aversion treatments including pairing smoking with electric shocks - every time a smoker takes a drag on the cigarette a slightly painful electric shock is given Aversion strategies are especially effective for smokers who are low on physical dependence on nicotine and for those who smoke for pleasure

Leventhal and Avis

dipped cigarettes in vinegar to make them taste bad and then measured how many cigarettes people would smoke. As predicted, people who smoked primarily for its pleasure smoked significantly fewer bad-tasting cigarettes than they normally smoked, whereas those whose smoking was not motivated by pleasure smoked the same number of cigarettes they usually did This model also proposes that people smoke as a way of coping with negative affect, to reduce anxiety, tension, and frustration Relaxation is one of the most common motivations for smoking

Restraint Theory

explains the mixed findings from the internal-external and mood regulation theories, stating that people are generally motivated to eat as a function of internal physiological signals that cue hunger. However, when people are trying to lose weight they ignore these internal signals and instead use cognitive rules to limit their caloric intake. This approach can lead to great restrictions in eating but can also lead people to overeat (those who give in may think "well I've already blown it now, might as well eat as much as I want"). This was shown in an example with rating ice cream, where dieters typically ate more ice cream when eating one flavor lead to even more eating. Research shows that this theory isn't always a good predict of eating behavior because restrained eaters don't always give in so easy to overeating because of other factors such as a potential "fat history".

Anorexia nervosa

involves a drastic reduction of food intake and an intentional loss of weight. Can cause low blood pressure, heart damage, and cardio arrhythmia and long term problems such as infertility and bone loss.

rapid-smoking technique

patients smoke rapidly and continue so as to exceed their tolerance for cigarette smoke and thereby experience an unpleasant sensation

AA

people who are trying to stop drinking attend frequent meetings in which members talk about their experiences with alcohol and their difficulty in quitting The general AA philosophy is based on 2 principles - people who abuse alcohol are alcoholics and will remain that way for life even if they never drink again, and taking even a single drink after being abstinent can set off an alcoholic binge; therefore, the goal is total abstinence from alcohol AA helps men, those with less education, and those who are highly sociable showing the greatest benefits 75% success rate of those who "really tried"

Tomkin's affect-regulation model

proposes that people smoke to attain positive affect or to avoid or reduce negative affect Positive-affect smokers may smoke as a way of enhancing the pleasure associated with other events, like eating a great meal or having sex These people find smoking extremely pleasurable and smoke only when they are already feeling good

CBT

strategy for treating alcoholics alcohol abuse is a learned behavior, so just change the behavioral techniques and focus on awareness and avoidance like self-monitoring, stimulus control, substitution, and contingency contracting learn different means of coping These programs focus on helping people become aware of their expectations about the benefits of drinking, the factors that lead them to drink, and the situations that lead them to drink Then people are trained to avoid these situations Other cognitive-behavioral approaches train people to respond in new ways to tempting situations, such as bringing nonalcoholic drinks with them or eating food instead of drinking Because alcoholic often use drinking as a way of coping with tension and anxiety, they might learn new methods for handling stress, such as relaxation, meditation, and exercise Some of the cognitive-behavioral approaches work only when enforced and go away once the program disappears

insight-oriented psychotherapy

strategy for treating alcoholics focuses on helping people understand their motivations for drinking, such as feeling negatively about themselves or coping with various problems in their lives A therapist might then work with them to change the problem that lead them to drink, to help them gain self-esteem, to understand the factors that lead them to drink, and to learn new methods of coping with such problems