BBH Final Exam Prep Test Questions Solved 100%
Correct
Compare and contrast the biopsychosocial and biomedical models. Include in your
explanation the advantages of the biopsychosocial model over the biomedical model.
biomedical model (dominant model in medical training and care for past 300 years)
-solely based on biology (single factor -psychological, social, behavioral explanations
independent of disease = DUALISM)
-only focuses on illness - NOT HEALTH (wait until something breaks)
-helps with acute trauma and infectious diseases
-illness reduced to microlevel (low level) such as chemical imbalances
biopsychosocial model
-emphasis on both health and illness
-macrolevel processes (psychological and social factors are determinates of health, just as
microlevel processes are)
-multiple factors
-mind and body cannot be distinguished in matters of health and illness
Explain how changing patterns of illness have contributed to the rise of biobehavioral
health/health psychology.
1900s people dying of infectious diseases
-flu, TB, pnemonia (NO VACCINATIONS)
now we have vaccines and are dying of chronic disease caused by behaviors
-cancers
studying behaviors that contribute to illness allows health psychology to grow
,Describe the functioning of the autonomic nervous system. Include in your response the roles
of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system in response to stress.
autonomic nervous system - controls bodily functions/processes that are regulated
automatically/involuntarily
-connected to almost every organ, effects all different parts of the body
-controls endocrine system
sympathetic:
-exciting ("fight or flight")
-response generated by performance stress (inhibit digestion, stimulate adrenaline, increase
HR, prepares for injury, sugars/fats released, excretory system)
parasympathetic:
-relaxing ("rest and digest")
-body recovery after arousal
What makes events stressful? Include in your answer a discussion of Lazarus and Folkman's
model of psychological appraisal in the experience of stress.
Primary - is it or is it not a source of harm, threat or loss? if so the proceed to...
Secondary - evaluate resources (sufficient resources to handle stressor = no distress OR
insufficient resources to handle stressor = distress)
Cognitive appraisal - is our strategy working?
-if you have stuff to do/your resources are limited your stress will go up
-difference reactions for different people (individualistic)
Is stress a subjective experience, objective experience, or both? Carefully justify your answer.
Both. It may start out objective but the way we assess the situation/come up with resources
would be subjective
**influenced by objective reality but is largely a subjective response
, getting shot --> objective
an imagined threat --> subjective (stressor doesn't even have to be present to produce
physiological effects nearly identical to actually experiencing the event)
What is the optimal (best) approach to the measurement of stress? Justify your answer.
-biological markers - measures of cortisol
-observing individuals in environment/assessing environment (poverty)
-asking someone close to them ("is this person stressed?")
-self report ("are you stressed?")
trying to do as many of these as possible
When considering the impact of stress on health, is it the little things of the big things? That
is, are major life events the critical factor or is it the little, constant annoyances that are most
harmful to psychological and physical health?
-both daily hassles (misplacing something, getting stuck in traffic) and major life events (loss of
loved one, divorce) influence health and well-being
-seem to potentiate each other
-if you undergo a big stressful event, you are more likely to deplete resources to deal with little
events
-if you are relatively free of big stressful events, you will have more resources to deal with little
life events
-if both are present it has the biggest stress impact and therefore more detrimental to health
What is coping? How can we distinguish "good" coping from "bad" coping, and how might
this vary according to the frame of reference (the perspective one takes)?
coping - efforts made by individuals to respond to (or "handle") stress
*JUST DEPENDS ON THE GOALS OF THE INDIVIDUAL
Correct
Compare and contrast the biopsychosocial and biomedical models. Include in your
explanation the advantages of the biopsychosocial model over the biomedical model.
biomedical model (dominant model in medical training and care for past 300 years)
-solely based on biology (single factor -psychological, social, behavioral explanations
independent of disease = DUALISM)
-only focuses on illness - NOT HEALTH (wait until something breaks)
-helps with acute trauma and infectious diseases
-illness reduced to microlevel (low level) such as chemical imbalances
biopsychosocial model
-emphasis on both health and illness
-macrolevel processes (psychological and social factors are determinates of health, just as
microlevel processes are)
-multiple factors
-mind and body cannot be distinguished in matters of health and illness
Explain how changing patterns of illness have contributed to the rise of biobehavioral
health/health psychology.
1900s people dying of infectious diseases
-flu, TB, pnemonia (NO VACCINATIONS)
now we have vaccines and are dying of chronic disease caused by behaviors
-cancers
studying behaviors that contribute to illness allows health psychology to grow
,Describe the functioning of the autonomic nervous system. Include in your response the roles
of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system in response to stress.
autonomic nervous system - controls bodily functions/processes that are regulated
automatically/involuntarily
-connected to almost every organ, effects all different parts of the body
-controls endocrine system
sympathetic:
-exciting ("fight or flight")
-response generated by performance stress (inhibit digestion, stimulate adrenaline, increase
HR, prepares for injury, sugars/fats released, excretory system)
parasympathetic:
-relaxing ("rest and digest")
-body recovery after arousal
What makes events stressful? Include in your answer a discussion of Lazarus and Folkman's
model of psychological appraisal in the experience of stress.
Primary - is it or is it not a source of harm, threat or loss? if so the proceed to...
Secondary - evaluate resources (sufficient resources to handle stressor = no distress OR
insufficient resources to handle stressor = distress)
Cognitive appraisal - is our strategy working?
-if you have stuff to do/your resources are limited your stress will go up
-difference reactions for different people (individualistic)
Is stress a subjective experience, objective experience, or both? Carefully justify your answer.
Both. It may start out objective but the way we assess the situation/come up with resources
would be subjective
**influenced by objective reality but is largely a subjective response
, getting shot --> objective
an imagined threat --> subjective (stressor doesn't even have to be present to produce
physiological effects nearly identical to actually experiencing the event)
What is the optimal (best) approach to the measurement of stress? Justify your answer.
-biological markers - measures of cortisol
-observing individuals in environment/assessing environment (poverty)
-asking someone close to them ("is this person stressed?")
-self report ("are you stressed?")
trying to do as many of these as possible
When considering the impact of stress on health, is it the little things of the big things? That
is, are major life events the critical factor or is it the little, constant annoyances that are most
harmful to psychological and physical health?
-both daily hassles (misplacing something, getting stuck in traffic) and major life events (loss of
loved one, divorce) influence health and well-being
-seem to potentiate each other
-if you undergo a big stressful event, you are more likely to deplete resources to deal with little
events
-if you are relatively free of big stressful events, you will have more resources to deal with little
life events
-if both are present it has the biggest stress impact and therefore more detrimental to health
What is coping? How can we distinguish "good" coping from "bad" coping, and how might
this vary according to the frame of reference (the perspective one takes)?
coping - efforts made by individuals to respond to (or "handle") stress
*JUST DEPENDS ON THE GOALS OF THE INDIVIDUAL
