1 Foundations of Health Psychology Free Online FlashCards

What does health psychology study?

Health psychology studies how biological, psychological, behavioral, social, and cultural factors shape health, illness, and health care.

What does the biomedical perspective emphasize?

It emphasizes disease processes and biological mechanisms, such as pathogens, genes, and physiology. It is essential for diagnosis and treatment but may not explain differences in people’s experiences or outcomes.

What does a social and ecological perspective add?

It considers how family, workplaces, neighborhood safety, costs, and public policy make health choices easier or harder, so interventions may target environments as well as individuals.

How are psychological and physical health linked?

Physical illness can affect mood, attention, relationships, and routines; psychological experiences can also affect health-related behavior and bodily processes.

Why does stress not affect everyone’s health in the same way?

Its effects depend on factors such as duration, health and vulnerability, coping resources, and social support. Stress is not a single or inevitable cause of illness.

Which factors shape action in the Health Belief Model?

It includes perceived susceptibility and seriousness, expected benefits and barriers, cues to act, and self-efficacy.

What are three ways people may cope with demands?

Coping may involve changing the problem, regulating emotional distress, or seeking support. Its usefulness depends on the situation.

What can cross-sectional and correlational studies show?

They examine variables at one point in time or test whether they are associated. An association alone does not establish that one factor caused another.

What is the biopsychosocial perspective?

It explains health and illness as outcomes of interacting biological, psychological, and social influences, complementing rather than replacing medical explanations.

What is central to Social Cognitive Theory?

Behavior, personal factors, and the environment influence one another. The theory also emphasizes self-efficacy, observational learning, and reinforcement.

What shapes intentions in the Theory of Planned Behavior?

Intentions are shaped by attitudes toward the behavior, perceived social norms, and perceived behavioral control.

How does the Transtheoretical Model describe change?

The model describes readiness through stages such as precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance. People may move between stages rather than progress in a straight line.