Health Psychology
- Psychological processes and (physical health)
- Preventing illness - policymakers
- Promotion and maintenance of (physical) health
- Improvement of health care systems and policy
- Incorporate work from across psychology to inform research and practice.
- Describe, explain, predict and change health behaviours and outcomes
-Construct and test theories of health behaviour and try to implement the into interventions
/ daily practice
Personality and Social Psychology: What social contexts interventions may be best - group,
individual, remote, e.g., exercise
Developmental Psychology: How kids and developmental process has associations with how
people respond to health information. Presence or absence of adult, how adult behaves.
Economics: Cost of healthcare, how it can be more effective, which mental health conditions
are most costly, e.g., the idea that healthcare is free has an impact on how people behave
such as missed appointments etc.
Cognitive Psychology: Mental processes that underly unhealthy behaviours, how we form
habits and how unconscious cognition affects behaviour.
Neuroscience: How different patients react to different drugs, the brain’s response.
Observation -> Theory Building -> Theory Testing -> Testing interventions
Models in Health Psychology:
- Biopsychosocial: Combination of biological, psychological and social factors, holistic
view by drawing on full range of information.
- Theory of Planned Behaviour: Environmental influence
- Major Theorists Model = HBM + TPB: Health beliefs Model is examining reasons
underlying good and bad health behaviours to establish multiple factors that are
relevant for the eventual behaviour. Focus on threat perception and health related
cost/benefit evaluation. Predict and change behaviour using these components.
External variables:
-SocioEconomicStatus - Lower SES means bad health behaviours.
-Personal Relative Deprivation - how you compare yourself to other people depends
how healthy you are, regardless of money.
-Neuroticism - worse health outcomes and/or more awareness of poor health.
-Extraversion - good (lower heart disease) and bad (smoking) health outcomes.
-Conscientiousness: More likely to exercise and less likely to engage in unhealthy
behaviours.
-Optimism: Unrealistic optimism means better health outcomes. People
underestimate health issues to some extents were the healthiest.
- Psychological processes and (physical health)
- Preventing illness - policymakers
- Promotion and maintenance of (physical) health
- Improvement of health care systems and policy
- Incorporate work from across psychology to inform research and practice.
- Describe, explain, predict and change health behaviours and outcomes
-Construct and test theories of health behaviour and try to implement the into interventions
/ daily practice
Personality and Social Psychology: What social contexts interventions may be best - group,
individual, remote, e.g., exercise
Developmental Psychology: How kids and developmental process has associations with how
people respond to health information. Presence or absence of adult, how adult behaves.
Economics: Cost of healthcare, how it can be more effective, which mental health conditions
are most costly, e.g., the idea that healthcare is free has an impact on how people behave
such as missed appointments etc.
Cognitive Psychology: Mental processes that underly unhealthy behaviours, how we form
habits and how unconscious cognition affects behaviour.
Neuroscience: How different patients react to different drugs, the brain’s response.
Observation -> Theory Building -> Theory Testing -> Testing interventions
Models in Health Psychology:
- Biopsychosocial: Combination of biological, psychological and social factors, holistic
view by drawing on full range of information.
- Theory of Planned Behaviour: Environmental influence
- Major Theorists Model = HBM + TPB: Health beliefs Model is examining reasons
underlying good and bad health behaviours to establish multiple factors that are
relevant for the eventual behaviour. Focus on threat perception and health related
cost/benefit evaluation. Predict and change behaviour using these components.
External variables:
-SocioEconomicStatus - Lower SES means bad health behaviours.
-Personal Relative Deprivation - how you compare yourself to other people depends
how healthy you are, regardless of money.
-Neuroticism - worse health outcomes and/or more awareness of poor health.
-Extraversion - good (lower heart disease) and bad (smoking) health outcomes.
-Conscientiousness: More likely to exercise and less likely to engage in unhealthy
behaviours.
-Optimism: Unrealistic optimism means better health outcomes. People
underestimate health issues to some extents were the healthiest.
