THE ULTIMATE HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY
TEST BANK: PRACTICE QUESTIONS WITH
VERIFIED ANSWERS AND
COMPREHENSIVE RATIONALES – BASED
ON RICHARD STRAUB'S A
BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL APPROACH, 7TH
EDITION – COVERING EVERY MAJOR
TOPIC FROM THE BIOMEDICAL MODEL
TO CHRONIC PAIN MANAGEMENT,
INCLUDING STRESS, COPING,
ADHERENCE, SLEEP, EXERCISE,
PREVENTION, AND PATIENT BEHAVIOR
Theme 1: Foundations and the Biopsychosocial Model
1. According to the biopsychosocial model, health and illness are
determined by:
A) Biological factors alone
B) Psychological factors alone
C) Social factors alone
D) The interaction of biological, psychological, and social factors
,Answer: D
Rationale: The biopsychosocial model is the core framework of the text,
positing that biological (e.g., genetics), psychological (e.g., behavior,
beliefs), and social (e.g., social support, culture) factors dynamically interact
to influence health and illness.
2. The biomedical model is criticized for being overly reductionist. This
means it:
A) Views health as a complete state of well-being
B) Reduces illness to disordered cells and chemical imbalances, failing to
recognize psychological factors
C) Focuses primarily on preventing disease
D) Incorporates social and environmental factors
Answer: B
Rationale: The biomedical model historically reduced illness to physical
causes. It is considered reductionist because it simplifies complex health
issues to biological mechanisms, ignoring psychological and social
influences.
3. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as:
A) The absence of disease or injury
B) The ability to perform daily tasks
C) A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being
D) The product of genetic makeup and lifestyle
Answer: C
Rationale: This is the classic WHO definition of health, which moves
beyond a simple absence of disease to encompass a holistic state of well-
being.
4. A person who believes that stress and lack of sleep contributed to
catching a cold is implicitly accepting which model of health?
A) Biomedical model
,B) Biopsychosocial model
C) Humoral model
D) Genetic model
Answer: B
Rationale: This view acknowledges that psychological factors (stress) and
behavioral factors (sleep) interact with biological vulnerability (exposure to
a virus) to cause illness, reflecting the biopsychosocial perspective.
5. Health psychology is best defined as the scientific study of:
A) The physiological causes of disease
B) Behaviors that relate to health enhancement, disease prevention, and
rehabilitation
C) The relationship between the brain and the immune system
D) The cost-effectiveness of medical treatments
Answer: B
Rationale: Health psychology applies psychological principles to
understand how people stay healthy, why they become ill, and how they
respond when they do get ill, focusing on behaviors and lifestyles.
Theme 2: Research and Prevention
6. Actions taken to identify and treat an illness early, with the aim of
stopping or reversing the problem, are known as:
A) Primary prevention
B) Secondary prevention
C) Tertiary prevention
D) Quaternary prevention
Answer: B
Rationale: Primary prevention aims to avoid disease (e.g., seatbelts).
, Secondary prevention focuses on early detection and treatment (e.g.,
mammograms, blood pressure screenings). Tertiary prevention aims to
mitigate damage or prevent recurrence after a disease has progressed.
7. The field of psychosomatic medicine emerged because the
biomedical model was unable to explain:
A) Gender differences in disease prevalence
B) Disorders that had no observable physical cause
C) Cultural differences in disease incidence
D) Age-related health issues
Answer: B
Rationale: The biomedical model struggled to explain disorders like
conversion hysteria, where patients had physical symptoms without a clear
organic cause. This led to the development of psychosomatic medicine to
study the link between emotions and bodily processes.
8. Which of the following is a key trend that led to the rise of health
psychology?
A) A decrease in chronic diseases
B) Changing patterns of disease from acute to chronic illnesses
C) A reduction in healthcare costs
D) A focus solely on infectious diseases
Answer: B
Rationale: As infectious diseases declined and chronic illnesses (e.g., heart
disease, cancer) became leading causes of death, the role of lifestyle and
behavior in health became more apparent, necessitating a field like health
psychology.
Theme 3: Health Behaviors and Theories
TEST BANK: PRACTICE QUESTIONS WITH
VERIFIED ANSWERS AND
COMPREHENSIVE RATIONALES – BASED
ON RICHARD STRAUB'S A
BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL APPROACH, 7TH
EDITION – COVERING EVERY MAJOR
TOPIC FROM THE BIOMEDICAL MODEL
TO CHRONIC PAIN MANAGEMENT,
INCLUDING STRESS, COPING,
ADHERENCE, SLEEP, EXERCISE,
PREVENTION, AND PATIENT BEHAVIOR
Theme 1: Foundations and the Biopsychosocial Model
1. According to the biopsychosocial model, health and illness are
determined by:
A) Biological factors alone
B) Psychological factors alone
C) Social factors alone
D) The interaction of biological, psychological, and social factors
,Answer: D
Rationale: The biopsychosocial model is the core framework of the text,
positing that biological (e.g., genetics), psychological (e.g., behavior,
beliefs), and social (e.g., social support, culture) factors dynamically interact
to influence health and illness.
2. The biomedical model is criticized for being overly reductionist. This
means it:
A) Views health as a complete state of well-being
B) Reduces illness to disordered cells and chemical imbalances, failing to
recognize psychological factors
C) Focuses primarily on preventing disease
D) Incorporates social and environmental factors
Answer: B
Rationale: The biomedical model historically reduced illness to physical
causes. It is considered reductionist because it simplifies complex health
issues to biological mechanisms, ignoring psychological and social
influences.
3. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as:
A) The absence of disease or injury
B) The ability to perform daily tasks
C) A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being
D) The product of genetic makeup and lifestyle
Answer: C
Rationale: This is the classic WHO definition of health, which moves
beyond a simple absence of disease to encompass a holistic state of well-
being.
4. A person who believes that stress and lack of sleep contributed to
catching a cold is implicitly accepting which model of health?
A) Biomedical model
,B) Biopsychosocial model
C) Humoral model
D) Genetic model
Answer: B
Rationale: This view acknowledges that psychological factors (stress) and
behavioral factors (sleep) interact with biological vulnerability (exposure to
a virus) to cause illness, reflecting the biopsychosocial perspective.
5. Health psychology is best defined as the scientific study of:
A) The physiological causes of disease
B) Behaviors that relate to health enhancement, disease prevention, and
rehabilitation
C) The relationship between the brain and the immune system
D) The cost-effectiveness of medical treatments
Answer: B
Rationale: Health psychology applies psychological principles to
understand how people stay healthy, why they become ill, and how they
respond when they do get ill, focusing on behaviors and lifestyles.
Theme 2: Research and Prevention
6. Actions taken to identify and treat an illness early, with the aim of
stopping or reversing the problem, are known as:
A) Primary prevention
B) Secondary prevention
C) Tertiary prevention
D) Quaternary prevention
Answer: B
Rationale: Primary prevention aims to avoid disease (e.g., seatbelts).
, Secondary prevention focuses on early detection and treatment (e.g.,
mammograms, blood pressure screenings). Tertiary prevention aims to
mitigate damage or prevent recurrence after a disease has progressed.
7. The field of psychosomatic medicine emerged because the
biomedical model was unable to explain:
A) Gender differences in disease prevalence
B) Disorders that had no observable physical cause
C) Cultural differences in disease incidence
D) Age-related health issues
Answer: B
Rationale: The biomedical model struggled to explain disorders like
conversion hysteria, where patients had physical symptoms without a clear
organic cause. This led to the development of psychosomatic medicine to
study the link between emotions and bodily processes.
8. Which of the following is a key trend that led to the rise of health
psychology?
A) A decrease in chronic diseases
B) Changing patterns of disease from acute to chronic illnesses
C) A reduction in healthcare costs
D) A focus solely on infectious diseases
Answer: B
Rationale: As infectious diseases declined and chronic illnesses (e.g., heart
disease, cancer) became leading causes of death, the role of lifestyle and
behavior in health became more apparent, necessitating a field like health
psychology.
Theme 3: Health Behaviors and Theories
