Health Psychology Overview Quiz

Health Psychology Defined

• Health psychology is a field that investigates the psychological influences on health, illness, and responses to illness.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease.

Wellness/Illness Continuum

• A visual representation showing the range of health states from wellness to illness.

Estimated Contributions of Different Factors to Health Status

• Health behaviors can influence the development of illness and maintaining health/managing disease.

Health Psychology Focus

• Health promotion and maintenance
• Prevention and treatment of illness
• Etiology and correlates of health, illness, and dysfunction
• Studying the impact of health institutions and professionals on people's health behaviors

Health Psychology Roles

• The educational, scientific, and professional contributions of psychology to health promotion and illness prevention/treatment.
• Identifying causes and correlates of health and illness.
• Improving health care systems and policies

Early Views of Mind-Body Relationship

• The mind and body are viewed as a unit in understanding health.

Early Cultures' Beliefs About Disease

• Disease was often seen as punishment from gods or caused by evil spirits.

Supernatural/Magical Beliefs About Disease

• Disease resulted from harmful objects, social taboo violations, supernatural possession, or loss of a soul.
• Treatments focused on confessing sins, appeasing gods, exorcism, removing objects, and using magical/vile concoctions.

Hippocrates' Humoral Theory

• The body contains four fluids (blood, black bile, yellow bile, phlegm).
• Illness occurs when the balance of those fluids is disrupted.
• Treatment aims to restore balance.
  • Treatments were based on the concept of balancing the body's humors

Evolving View of Diseases

• Disease's location in the body changed over time.
  • Diseases were believed to be localized in anatomy in the 16th through 18 centuries.
  • Specific tissues could become diseased while others remained healthy.
  • Diseases could be found at the cellular level in the 19th century.

The Mind-Body Relationship: Psychoanalytic View

• Freud's early work on conversion hysteria suggested physical disturbances symbolize unconscious conflicts.
• The patient converts internal conflict into physical symptoms.

The Mind-Body Relationship: Psychosomatic Medicine

• Conflicts produce anxiety which has physical manifestations via the autonomic nervous system.
• Disorders could be psychosomatic in origin (anxiety, ulcers).
• Critiques: a single conflict cannot explain all diseases.
• Several factors contribute to the onset and progression of diseases.
• Possible genetic weaknesses in the organism

The Biopsychosocial Model

• Mind, body, and environment interact to cause disease.
• Diagnosis must consider biological, psychological, and social factors.

Relation of Health Psychology to Other Health-Related Fields

• Health psychology connects to diverse fields (medicine, cardiology).
• Health psychology examines the psychological elements of overall health and illness.

Current Views of the Mind-Body Relationship

• Psychological and social environment influence physical health, and vice-versa.
• Holistic approaches to health and healing are growing.
• Interest in alternative and complementary therapies is increasing.

Biopsychosocial Model of Disease

• Health psychology examines the interactions of biological, psychological, and social factors on health and disease.

What is the Field of Health Psychology Needed?

• Understanding health and illness requires understanding lifestyle factors and patterns.

The Nervous System

• The nervous system, composed of the central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS), is central to controlling bodily activities.
• The CNS is made of brain and spinal cord.
• The PNS has somatic and autonomic nervous systems (both have different functions: voluntary versus involuntary).

The Brain

• The brain has four lobes (frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal) each with specific functions.
• Each hemisphere receives sensory information from the opposite side of the body.

The Endocrine System

• The endocrine system complements the nervous system producing hormones, influencing bodily activities.
• Multiple glands and hormones interact in the body, including adrenal, thyroid, and pituitary glands.

The Digestive System

• The digestive system breaks down food, absorbs nutrients and excretes waste.
• A wide range of disorders can affect the system.

The Respiratory System

• The respiratory system facilitates gas exchange in the body.
• Respiratory disorders, from asthma to pneumonia, are common.

The Cardiovascular System

• The cardiovascular system (heart and blood vessels) transports blood carrying oxygen and essential nutrients throughout the body.
• Blood pressure, cardiac output, and blood viscosity are important factors in this process.

Cardiovascular System Disorders

• Common disorders include atherosclerosis, arteriosclerosis, angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, and hypertension.

The Immune System

• The immune system protects the body from pathogens, a process with key components such as leukocytes, antibodies, antigens, and inflammatory and immune reactions.
• Numerous disorders relating to the immune system exists.

Disorders Related to Clotting

• Blood clotting mechanisms can go wrong, causing disorders like coronary and cerebral thromboses and embolus.

Disorders of the Immune System

• Conditions like AIDS, cancer, and infectious disorders can compromise the immune system's ability to function normally.

Stress and the Immune System

• Stress can suppress the immune system's effectiveness; stress responses impacting neuroendocrine systems.
• Stressors and the body's response to them, and associated illness pathways were discussed.

What is Coping?

• Coping mechanisms are thoughts and behavior designed to manage stress.
• Effective coping is associated with positive health outcomes.

Routes Which Stress May Produce Disease

• Stress can produce physical and mental illnesses through various pathways.

Coping Efforts Centre on Five Main Tasks

• Individuals employ various methods to cope with stress.

How Social Support Affects Stress

• Social networks and support aid in stress management, affecting physiological responses and the likelihood of disease.

What are Coping Interventions?

• Interventions for coping with stress involve mindfulness training, disclosure and writing about experiences, and relaxation techniques.