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Chapter 16
Health Psychology
Cross-Cultural Concepts of Health
Throughout history, the term health has been defined in many ways.
A Comparison of the Biomedical and
Biopsychosocial Models
• The biomedical model of health care emphasizes the use of drugs,
surgery, and other procedures designed to correct physical ailments.
• The biopsychosocial model of health care emphasizes the effect of
behaviors, thoughts, feelings, and culture on a person's physical health.
A Comparison of the Top 10 Causes of
Death in 1900 and Today
• Comparing the leading causes of death at the
beginning and end of the 20th century, notice that
the leading cause of death, heart disease, did not
change. But by 1996, the threat of infectious
diseases had greatly diminished.
Public Health Measures versus
High-Tech Medicine
• From 1900 to 1970,
the death rate from
eight infectious
diseases diminished
markedly. Most of
these reductions came
from improvements in
public health rather
than from drug
interventions.
The Role of Health Habits in both
Morbidity and Mortality
• Noncommunicable disorders correlated with
death:
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Smoking
Overeating
Excessive drinking
Lack of exercise
Social Connections and Life Expectancy
• From age 50 to 70, both men and women remain healthier if they belong to
a social network of family and friends.
• Men who have few social ties are more likely to die than women with few
social ties.
Behavioral Causes of Heart Disease
• Main categories of cardiovascular disease:
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Coronary heart disease
Hypertension
Rheumatic fever
Cerebrovascular disease
• Risk factors for CVD:
– Family history of heart disease
– Physiological conditions such as hypertension and blocked arteries
– Lifestyle factors such as drinking, smoking, overeating, and lack of
exercise
Saturated Fats and Cholesterol Levels
• Heart disease is related
to hyperlipidemia, an
unhealthy condition in
which lipids are found
in high numbers in the
bloodstream.
• Moderate exercise and
moderate alcohol
intake increase levels
of good cholesterol.
Body Mass Index
• The BMI is a
general guide to
obesity based on
height and
weight.
• BMIs of 25-29,
30-39, and 40 and
above correspond
to grades 1, 2,
and 3 obesity,
respectively.
Beneficial Effects of Aerobic
Exercise
• This table shows the numbers of METs--the amount of
oxygen used per kilogram of body weight per minute-associated with different kinds of exercise.
General Adaptation Syndrome
Alarm
Resistance
Exhaustion
Holmes-Rahe Social Readjustment
Rating Scale
• Measures how psychological stress affects physical health.
• Scale ranks typical life events in terms of their level of stress.
• Many different researchers have found that psychological stress
occurs at higher-than-chance levels prior to physical illness.
Hassles Scale
• Lazarus (1984) and Kanner and others (1981) compared
the Hassles Scale with the Holmes-Rahe SRRS and found
little correlation between them.
• The Hassle Scale predicts future illness better than the
Holmes-Rahe scale.
Diathesis-stress Model
• People are genetically predisposed to
develop specific illnesses in response to
stress.
Hardy Personality
• Committed to self
• Has an external locus of control
• Perceives events as challenges rather than
stressors
Coping with Stress
• Coping responses are intended to reduce or
better tolerate the perceived stress of events.
• Not all coping responses are adaptive.
• Examples: touching and being touched,
drug use, progressive relaxation and
hypnosis, meditation, and psychological
defense mechanisms.
The Psychoneuroimmunological
Model of Health
• In the human body, four
physiological systems--central
nervous system, autonomic
nervous system,
neuroendocrine system, and
immune system-communicate with each other
via chemical messengers such
as neurotransmitters and
hormones. Thus the body and
mind are intimately
connected. A person's health is
also affected by cultural
influences.
Functions of the Immune System
• Immunosurveillance
– To recognize and defend against foreign substances
such as infectious organisms, which can damage tissues
and organs.
• Acquired Immunity
– To form antibodies and sensitized lymphocytes in
response to the introduction of foreign substances.
Responses of the Immune System
to Challenging Stimuli
• The immune system
responds to challenges to
the self from both the
outside and the inside.
Most of the time it
functions smoothly,
eliminating sources of
disease. But occasionally it
malfunctions, resulting in
disease of one type or
another.
Placebo Effect versus Nocebo Effect
• The placebo effect is a beneficial outcome of a treatment
that cannot be related to specific causal properties of the
treatment.
• The nocebo effect is sickness or pain resulting from
negative expectations.