C10 Health Psychology

INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY (1st SEMESTER, 2019-2020) | (ELFIE M. SAMANIEGO) | (9 September 2019)

OUTLINE d) Incidence
I. Introduction ˗ The number of new cases.
II. Research Methods in Health Psychology
III. Theories about Health Behavior
IV. Promoting Healthy Behavior
V. Nutrition III. THEORIES ABOUT HEALTH BEHAVIOR
VI. Exercise 1. Health Belief Model
VII. Sleep
VIII.Obesity a) Perception of Threat (e.g, Waite &
IX. Eating Disorders Killian, 2008)
X. Smoking ˗ Awareness that there’s a problem.
XI. Alcohol Abuse Even if a health threat is genuine,
XII. Stress
XIII.Coronary Heart Disease Larry is unlikely to do anything about
XIV. Coping with Chronic Disease it if he doesn’t recognize the threat.
XV. Patients, Providers and Treatment b) Perceived Severity of Threat
XVI. References ˗ If Larry recognizes the threat but
believes it is minor, he’s also unlikely
I. INTRODUCTION to do anything.
c) Perceived Pros and Cons of Engaging in
the Health Behavior.
 Health psychology is psychology applied to ˗ We might be perplexed if Larry
health. It’s a broad field which includes the study recognizes that smoking can kill him
of illness, treatments, prevention of illness, and and yet he makes no effort to quit.
promotion of good health. The problem could be that, although
Larry knows that the threat is serious,
 It’s important to note that good health is he thinks that the benefits outweigh
not merely the absence of illness. the drawbacks (I know smoking can
kill me, but I think it makes me look
 Health psychology is a field with both theoretical cool).
and practical importance, especially given that d) Cues to Action
many modern health problems (e.g., smoking, ˗ Anything that prompts the person to
obesity) are caused by potentially modifiable take action (e.g., Larry’s girlfriend
behaviours. encourages him to quit, watching a
relative die of lung cancer causes
Larry to rethink his smoking habit).
II. RESEARCH METHODS IN HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY 2. Transtheoretical Model (e.g, Tanigoshi &
colleagues, 2008)
1. Randomized Clinical Trial  Also called the stages of change model,
˗ The goal of an experiment is to evaluate a suggests that different people are in different
treatment. stages with regard to a health behavior.
2. Prospective Study a) Precontemplation stage
˗ An experiment that watches for outcomes. ˗ They are not even thinking about
3. Retrospective Studies changing and might be disinterested
˗ An experiment that looks backward to try to in changing.
identify potential causes. b) Contemplation stage
4. Epidemiology ˗ These individuals are thinking about
˗ Identifies risk factors by examining how changing.
medical conditions are distributed in a c) Preparation stage
population. ˗ Perhaps seeking information about
˗ Epidemiologic statistics include: how to change.
a) Mortality d) Action stage
˗ The number of people who die from ˗ They have committed to change and
particular conditions are making changes in their lives.
b) Morbidity e) Maintenance stage
˗ The number of people who have a ˗ They have changed, but they need to
particular condition. be vigilant to prevent a relapse.
3. Theory of Planned Behavior (Simsekoglu &
c) Prevalence Lajunen, 2008)
˗ The total number of cases

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  This is a general theory about behaviors that
are planned (as compared to behaviors that
are more spontaneous)
 According to the theory of planned behavior,
the best predictor of behavior is one’s
intention to perform the behavior. Behavioral
intentions are in turn predicted by three
factors: attitude toward the behavior,
subjective norms, and perceived behavioral
control.
IV. PROMOTING HEALTHY BEHAVIOR
 Promoting Healthy Behavior – Attitude
Change
 Yale Approach
˗ The degree of attitude change is
influenced by the source of the
message, the message itself, and the
audience listening to the message.
˗ The similarity between the source
and the audience was important.
 Convert Communicators
˗ People who had a problem but
overcame it; such people tend to be
more persuasive.
 Fear appeal
˗ A message designed to scare people
and so promote behavior change
 Message Framing
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˗ The presentation of a message in
terms of gains versus in terms of
losses
 Prospect Theory
˗ Describes how people make risky
decisions
 Need for Cognition
˗ A personality trait that involves the
tendency to think
 Promoting Healthy Behavior – Behavioral
and Cognitive Treatments
 Behavior Modification
˗ Using learning principles to change
behavior
 Aversion Treatment
˗ Pairing a behavior that one wants to
stop with something unpleasant
 Stimulus Control
˗ Changing the stimuli around oneself
to promote health
 Contingency Contracting
˗ Making an agreement with another
person about the rewards or
punishments one will receive for
engaging in healthy or unhealthy
behaviors
 Cognitive Restructuring
˗ Identifying and changing irrational
negative thoughts to more
reasonable and beneficial thoughts
 The Danger of Relapse
 Abstinence Violation Effect
˗ The tendency, if we violate our health
plan (or other goal), to splurge or
even abandon our health plan
completely
 Social Engineering
˗ Societal interventions, including
interventions designed to promote
health
V. NUTRITION
 Framingham Study
 Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the
leading cause of death and serious illness
in the United States.
 Healthy Diet
 Mostly stuff that grows from the dirt.
 Most of what we eat should be grains,
vegetables, and fruit.
 Skim milk is also good.
 Healthy oils (e.g., olive) are good.
 Fish and poultry are better than red meat.
 We shouldn’t eat too much fat or sugar
 Glycemix Index
˗ Indicates how easily your body
converts carbohydrates to sugar.
˗ If blood sugar drops too low we feel
tired and grouchy
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 ˗ ˗ (often measured by waist size) is an additional
VI. EXERCISE risk factor for cardiovascular disease and
diabetes
 Exercise helps people to maintain a healthy
weight
 Social Consequences of Obesity
 It reduces the risk of coronary heart disease and
 They are judged to be less attractive
diabetes
 Less likely to have attractive romantic
 It strengthens your body
partners
 Increases your lifespan
 Less likely to get married
 Reduces the risk of stroke for both men and
 Overweight people do not view
women
themselves particularly positively either
 Improves cardiovascular health
 Causes of Obesity
*adults need two and a half hours of moderate
 Genetic Factors
physical activity
 Varies in their Set Point (The
percentage of body fat that a person’s
body works to maintain)
VII. SLEEP
 Reward Sensitivity (One’s reaction to
positive outcomes, such as enjoyable
food)
 External Eating (Eating based on
external cues, such as the sight of
potato chips)
 Circadian Desynchrony (A lack of
agreement between our circadian
rhythms and aspects of our modern
lifestyle)
 No exercise
 Unhealthy Diet
 Losing Weight
1. Set goals. Start with a goal that you think you
can reach, like losing 10 pounds in two months.
When you reach it, set a new goal.
2. Slow and steady wins the race. Most people
don’t gain all their weight in a few months, and it
will probably take more than a few months to
take it off. Keep at it. If you mess up, don’t give
Rapid Eye Movement (REM) up.
˗ A sleep stage associated with dreaming and a 3. Exercise. As we noticed, dieting makes your
loss of muscle tone metabolism fall, but exercise, especially strength
˗ Often called Paradoxical Sleep training, burns calories while you’re exercising
and also increases your metabolism. Start with a
Effects of Sleep Deprivation goal you can reach and gradually increase it.
 We accumulate a sleep debt 4. Think about what you’re eating and why. It’s
 Increased risk of serious illness, including heart easy to mindlessly eat junk food while you’re
disease and diabetes watching TV. Don’t eat just because you’re
 Produces cognitive, emotional, and motivational bored or stressed; instead, do something fun
deficits and active.
 Less able to discriminate misleading information 5. Eat healthier foods. Cut out the French fries and
 Display impaired performance on mental rotation donuts. Eat whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.
6. Eat your calories. Drink water. Avoid sugared
soda and coffee with chocolate and cream.
7. Be wary with regard to snacks and portions. We
VIII. OBESITY are surrounded by unhealthy foods, and portions
in restaurants tend to be too large. Take half of
that giant plate of lasagna home and eat it
Body Mass Index (BMI)
tomorrow.
˗ An indicator of whether or not one is at a healthy
8. Out of sight, out of mind. Store leftovers and
weight
snacks in opaque containers to avoid being
Abdominal Fat
tempted by the sight of food.

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 IX. EATING DISORDERS XI. ALCOHOL ABUSE

˃ Characterized by maladaptive eating patterns  Alcohol Abuse

and excessive concern about body shape or ˗ is the use of alcohol in a manner that interferes
weight. with one’s life
 Anorexia Nervosa  Alcohol Dependence
o An eating disorder associated with the ˗ Or Alcoholism, alcohol abuse plus additional
following symptoms: being significantly symptoms, most notably marked tolerance for
underweight, an intense fear of alcohol and withdrawal symptoms
becoming overweight, and illusions  Delirium Tremens
about one’s body shape or weight. ˗ A life threatening condition produced by alcohol
People with anorexia might also use dependence that can include seizures,
extreme weight control techniques disorientation and hallucinations.
 Bulimia Nervosa
o An eating disorder characterized by Effects of Alcohol Abuse
binge eating and extreme weight control 1. Cardio-vascular disease
techniques, such as self-induced 2. Liver disease (cirrhosis)
vomiting 3. Cancer
 Binge Eating Disorder 4. Congestive heart failure
o An eating disorder characterized by 5. Hemorrhagic stroke
binge eating without the compensatory Why do People Drink?
behaviors 1. Genetic
2. Sensation Seeking
X. SMOKING 3. Physical Abuse Trauma
4. Peer Pressure
Alcohol Abuse Treatment and Prevention
Factors why People Start Smoking  Avoid situations where they might be tempted to
1. First, marketers have worked hard to create drink
advertising campaigns to lure people into  Stimulus Control
smoking  Contingency contracting
2. The portrayal of smoking in the media and by  Counseling with a physician
celebrities
3. Depends on what one’s peers are doing.
XII. STRESS
Smoking Cessation and Prevention
 Affect regulation ( Suggests that smokers Theories about Stress
smoke to manage their mood) a) The fight-or-flight response
 Nicotine Replacement (A strategy for quitting ˗ proposed that the stress associated with the
smoking that involves making nicotine fight-or-flight response had negative effects on
available in an alternative form) the body
 Rapid Smoking (An aversion treatment in b) General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)
which smokers smoke very fast) 1. Alarm
 Stimulus Control (A strategy for modifying 2. Resistance
behavior that involves changing 3. Exhaustion
 the stimuli in the environment, such as c) Tend-and-befriend
removing cigarettes from one’s environment) ˗ In times of stress we take care of one another
(tend) and also seek social connections
(befriend).
d) Transactional Theory
˗ Suggests that, when we encounter a potentially
stressful event, the degree to which we feel
stress depends on how we appraise the event
and our ability to cope
1. Primary Appraisal
2. Secondary Appraisal
3. Reappraisal
Predictors of Stress
a) Change
 Social Readjusment Rating Scale (Measures
stress associated with significant life changes)
b) Daily Hassles

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 c) Traumatic Events XIV. COPING WITH CHRONIC DISEASE
d) Poverty
e) Burnout
Psychoneuroimmunology Chronic Disease
˗ The study of psychological factors with regard to ˗ A disease that persists for a long time.
the immune system ˗ A chronic disease is one lasting 3 months or
Coping with Stress more.
1. Hardiness (Mental toughness) ˗ Chronic diseases generally cannot be prevented
a) Challenge by vaccines or cured by medication, nor do they
b) Control just disappear.
c) Commitment Nonadherence
2. Optimism ( Positive view of life and the future) ˗ Not following the instructions of health
3. Resilience ( The ability to get back up after a professionals
stressful event)
4. Social Support (Help or encouragement from
others, although the perception that we have XV. PATIENTS PROVIDERS AND TREATMENT
support is more beneficial than actual support)
5. Expressive Writing (Writing to explore an Attentional Focus
emotional issue) ˗ What one is attending to, which can influence
6. Progressive Muscle Relaxation (Learning to whether symptoms are perceived
tense and relax particular muscle groups) Lay Referral System
7. Deep Breathing (A series of slow, deep ˗ Lay people (people who are not health
8. breaths, which can produce a relaxed state) professionals) whom we might consult about
9. Guided Imagery (Visualizing a pleasant scene treatment decisions
to reduce distress) Depersonalization
10. Self-Affirmation (Talking to oneself in a positive ˗ When a person is regarded as an object rather
11. manner to reduce distress) than a person
12. Biofeedback (Provides feedback about one’s Placebos
physiological state so that one can learn which ˗ Medical treatments that have no active
strategies are successful at improving that state) ingredients but that can still produce effects
13. Problem-focused Coping (Coping that involves Double Blind Study
directly addressing the problem) ˗ A study in which neither the patients nor the
14. Emotion-focused Coping (Coping that involves person giving the treatment knows what each
managing emotions) patient is receiving
˗
XIII. CORONARY HEART DISEASE XVII. REFERENCES

Coronary Heart Disease (CHD)

˗ Coronary heart disease is the term that
describes what happens when your heart's
blood supply is blocked or interrupted by a build- Krull, D. S. (2014). Health Psychology. In D. S. Krull,
up of fatty substances in the coronary arteries.
Symptoms Introduction to Psychology (pp. 405-446).
1. Angina (Chest pain) Charlotte, North Carolina: Kona Publishing
2. Heart Palpitations and Media Group.
3. Breathlesness
4. Heart Attacks
5. Heart Failure
Prevention
1. Eat a healthy and balanced diet
2. Exercise
3. Keep a healthy weight
4. Avoid smoking
5. Reduce alcohol consumption
6. Keep blood pressure under control
7. Take prescribed medication

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