PSYCH 242 TEST 1

the study of psychological, social, and behavioral aspects of health and illness

• 1. prevent, diagnose, treat, and rehabilitate physical and mental illness
• 2. study psychological, social, emotional and behavioral factors in physical and mental illness
• 3. improve the healthcare system and health policy

assumes that health and illness are a result of biological, psychological, and social reasons that result in biological, psychological, and social outcomes

the study of the frequency, distribution, and causes of death, disease, and suffering

the number of cases of a particular disease or cause

the number of associated with a particular cause or disease

the number of people that currently have the disease

• decreased by - mortality rate, curability
• increased by - incidence

the number of new people in the population that acquired the disease

a technique for measuring the defree of relationship between two variables

variable used to predict the value of another variable

variable measured to look for effects from the predictor variable

the percent of one variable that is accounted for by the other

• - temporal order: if A is going to cause B, A must occur before B
• - logical relationship: how does A cause B?
• e
• - elimination or other causes

do our minds effect our bodies?

idea that the mind and brain have no relationship; they are fundamentally different and do not impact one another

• - very little evidence
• - case of Finneus Gage (roadworker who EXP severe personality changes after a brain trauma)

idea that the mind and brain are the same

- how can material and mental events be the same thing? (unconscious actions = abstract feelings?)

- what if a variety of brain states lead to the same "mind" state (depression triggered by hormones or sad events)

idea that the mind is what the brain does (scientific supported theory)

• - humans are often compared to computers in this sense, but we can EXP more
• - what about bidirectional relationships?

idea that the brain causes the mind; the idea that we have of "who we are" doesn't exist; epiphenominalism

doesn't make sense or fit with subjective experience

looks at research validity to get an answer to a problem that common studies tried to answer

3 out of 10 with the "fighting spirit" showed a reduction in cancer recurrence while 5 showed no relation

ideals within cultures always exist, but they change with time

heritable characteristics; physical appearance

psychological sense of similarity to others of the same

shared customs of communication and common experience

sense of who one is based on group membership

to take into consideration all of the social categories that power and oppression rest on

the individual interaction with the cultural environment

malfunctioning or mal-adaption of biological, psychological, and physiological processes (treated by physicians)

experiences of how disease psychologically impacts an individual; disvalued changes in states of being, social function, etc.

the ability to work effectively with individuals from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds or in settings where several cultures coexist

awareness of the potential and actual cultural factors that affect interactions with a client

the ability to understand and act on a physicians instructions

lifestyle, diet, stress, differing beliefs (disease etiology, appropriate treatments, proper self care)

unpleasant state of arousal in which people perceive the demands of an event as exceeding their ability to satisfy or alter those demands

whether an event is perceived stressful or not depends on resources and coping strategies

the process if achieving homeostasis through physiological or behavioral change

increased heart rate, circulation, metabolism, and decreased digestion and other peripheral systems; contributes to susceptibility to illness

"the wear and tear" which grows over time with exposure to repeated or chronic stress

states that our bodies develop illness due to stress and will suppress the immune system to fight/cope with illness

study of interaction between psychological processes and immune function