Health Psychology

How our behavior makes us ill How to encourage us to behave in ways to keep us healthy Impact of hospitals and health care system How to cope with stress in our lives

Health psychology in Media  I Used to Be fat  Biggest Loser  Heavy

 Undergraduate: A third of American colleges and universities offer courses  Graduate: Clinical, Counseling, social, or experimental  APA Division 38  Predoctoral internships

World Health Organization Definition of Good Health  the state of complete physical, social, and spiritual well being—not simply the absence of illness.”

Development of Health Psychology New term from late 1970s (though the idea has been around a lot longer) Greek scholars Driving out demons Germ theories People were dying because of their lifestyles not from regular degeneration

T HE 7 H EALTH B EHAVIORS Breslow and Breslow (1972) Remain at a healthy weight for your height Don’t smoke Moderate or NO use of alcohol Get regular exercise Eat breakfast on a regular basis Get a good night’s sleep Do not eat between meals

 Why?  One key area of health psychology is the study of what motivates us to engage in healthy and unhealthy behavior.

Behaviorist Approach O Classical Conditioning O Stimulus control O Response substitution O Operant Conditioning O Social Learning Theory O R6t7M7_5U

Cognitive Theories of Behavior Health Belief Model Theory of Planned Behavior

Trans-theoretical model 1)precontemplation. They don’t believe they’ll make a change soon 2) contemplation: developed some attitudes and beliefs concerning that behavior 3) preparation: people intend to change their behavior in the next few months 4) action: people modify their behavior 5) maintenance: continuing the behavior for longer than 6 months. People are more likely to continue this an be successful if the have -reached the preparation stage -believe in their ability to make a change -change with the support of family and friends -are able to avoid the cues of previous unhealthy behavior -are able to find rewarding alternatives -are rewarded for maintaining the change

Stress Nature of Stress Factors in our appraisal of stress Responding to stress Emotional, physiological, behavioral Potential Effects of Stress Factors influencing stress tolerance

 Frustration: thwarting of a motive  Conflict: incompatible motives competing  Life changes: Good or Bad  Pressure: expectations to Perform in a certain way

 Eustress=Good Stress  Stress is an every day event  Lies in the eyes of the beholder  May be embedded in the environment  May be self-imposed

Life Events Approach  Holmes and Rahe: Social Readjustment Rating Scale  Any noticeable alterations in one’s living circumstances that require readjustment.  Transactional Model: Stress is in the eye of the beholder  Appraisal  Perception of being able to cope

Issues with Holmes and Rahe  Correlational rather than Experimental Evidence  Positive vs. negative life changes  The need for novel stimulation  Personality differences  Cognitive appraisal

Cannon  In 1932, coined the term “Fight or Flight” to describe the body’s physical reaction to stress  Selye (1956) mistakenly coined the term stress because he couldn’t find the right word in English  Rats thrown in water study (Richter’s Rats) with/without prior stressor

Richter’s Rats

 Self-Efficacy expectations  Psychological hardiness  Sense of Humor  Social Support  Optimism  Sensation Seeking  Autonomic reactivity

Factors in our Appraisal of Stress Familiarity Controllability Predictability imminence

Karasek