PSYC2301 - Exam Notes

• Health


  A complete state of physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity
• Health Psychology


  • Health Promotion and Maintenance
  • Prevention and Treatment of Illness
  • Etiology of health, illness, and dysfunction
  • Impact of health Institutions and health professionals on behaviour
  • Improvement of healthcare system and creation of healthcare policy
• History of the Mind-Body Relationship

  1. Early Cultures - Presence of physical spirits

  2. The Greeks - Balance of four humours

  3. Middle Ages - Spiritual punishment and reward

  4. Renaissance - Thoughts physical states

  5. Descartes - Mind and body separation

  6. Psychoanalytic - Conflict fears and anxiety illness

  7. Behavioural Medicine - Objective, observable ailments

  8. Biomedical model - biochemical and neurological processes

  9. Biopsychosocial Model - biological, psychological, & social factors
• Biopsychosocial Model of Health

  Health is a combination of biological, psychological, and social factors and processes
• Biological factors


  • Eating habits
  • Genetic predispositions
  • Activity levels
• Psychological factors


  • Emotions
  • Beliefs
  • Values
  • Attitudes
• Social factors


  • Supports
  • Interactions
  • Learning
• Prior to 20th century, the aim was to prolong death, with a focus on infection diseases and malnutrition
• In the 20th century and beyond, technology and medical advancement have led to longer lives, but an increase in chronic conditions, with the aim of prevention of illness and promotion of well-being
• Culture


  Characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people who share a similar context
• Ethnicity


  People who identify with each other based on shared nation, homeland, society, culture, language, history and ancestry
• Race


  Socially constructed label or category largely based on physical characteristics such as skin colour, though it can overlap with ethnicity
• Sex


  Biological, observable reproductive systems
• Gender presentation


  Often aligned with sex, ranging from masculine to feminine
• Gender Identity


  Deeply felt sense of gender (male, female, neither, other, etc.)
• Sexual orientation


  Identity ≠ behaviour, may exist on a continuum
• Minority status


  Not based on prevalence or proportion, but power within society
• Socioeconomic Status


  Based on hierarchies, including income, occupational prestige, and power
• Systems


  Dynamic entities with components that are continuously interrelated
• Determinants of Health (Indigenous, Mohawk Haudenosaunee perspectives)

  • Cultural practices
  • Physical and physiological states
  • Environmental factors
  • Laws
  • Political decision-making
• Pertinent Determinants of Health (Indigenous, Mohawk Haudenosaunee perspectives)

  • Gender, biology, genetics
  • Physical environment
  • Food accessibility
  • Education
  • Social Environment
  • Employment
  • Income
  • Culture
  • Self-determination
  • Access to, and ability to seek out, health services and supports
  • Race & Ethnicity
• Impact of Policies on Determinants of Health

  • Access to Water
  • Activity
  • Food Security
  • Food Choices
  • Financial Stability
  • Access to Health Services
• Epidemiology


  Study of frequency, distribution, and causes of infection, disease, and disorders in a population
• Morbidity


  Number of cases in a population
• Mortality


  Number of deaths due to a particular cause
• Theory


  Integrated set of ideas that explain and predict observed events
• Good theories


  • Effectively summarize many observations, make clear predictions
• Experiments


  • Manipulation and interpretation
  • Blind to conditions
  • Double-blind when possible
  • Random assignment to control and experimental groups
  • Use of natural controls or placebos
  • Aims to uncover cause and effect
• Quasi-experimental design


  • Manipulation
  • Non-random assignment to condition
  • Effects observed are correlational
• Correlational Research


  • Observation of naturally occurring relationships
  • Direct questioning
• Qualitative methods


  • Interview, case studies
  • Narratives of lived experiences
• Retrospective study design


  • Looking back "Why do you think that happened?"
• Prospective study design


  • Looking ahead "What do you think will happen?"
• Longitudinal approach


  • Multiple observations of the same subject overtime
• Cross-sectional approach


  • One observation each of different subjects at different ages/points of experience/development conducted at the same time
• Single subject


  • Case study or in-depth look at rare phenomena
• Twins studies raise ethical concerns, such as violating child's rights, adding to trauma of separation/adoption, and lack of consent
• 1940s nutrition experiments conducted by Lionel Pett used Indigenous children attending residential schools as test subjects without their knowledge or consent, and some interventions resulted in poorer outcomes
• Research Ethics Boards oversee research with human subjects in hospitals and universities, and are guided by principles of respect for persons, concern for welfare, and justice
• Informed consent is key, but studies with children remain problematic as children cannot give informed consent