Health Psychology & Behavioral Medicine Flashcards

A clinician notices that a patient with hypertension only takes medication when they feel symptoms, believing pills are only needed when 'blood pressure is high.' Which construct from the Health Belief Model explains this behavior?

Answer: Inaccurate perceived susceptibility to complications

The patient underestimates ongoing risk because hypertension is asymptomatic most of the time, reflecting a distorted perceived susceptibility that medication is only needed during symptomatic episodes.

Which term describes the phenomenon where patients in clinical trials show improvement simply from being monitored and receiving attention, regardless of the treatment?

Answer: The Hawthorne effect

The Hawthorne effect refers to behavioral or health changes that occur because participants know they are being observed, a key confound in health intervention research.

Stage models of behavior change, such as the Transtheoretical Model, have been criticized primarily because:

Answer: Empirical evidence shows behavior change is often non-linear and stages are not reliably distinct

Critics note that stage boundaries are arbitrary, individuals frequently skip stages or cycle non-sequentially, and meta-analyses show stage-matched interventions don't consistently outperform non-matched ones.

Somatization disorder involves physical symptoms that cannot be fully explained medically. Which psychological process is most implicated in symptom amplification?

Answer: Selective attention and hypervigilance to bodily sensations

Attentional bias toward bodily sensations amplifies normal physiological signals into distressing symptoms, a process well-documented in health anxiety and somatic symptom disorder research.

Which model explains how social support buffers the effects of stress on health, specifically proposing that support reduces the perceived threat of stressors?

Answer: Stress-buffering hypothesis

The stress-buffering hypothesis holds that social support is most beneficial under high-stress conditions by altering cognitive appraisal of the stressor or facilitating coping resources.

In behavioral medicine, 'secondary gains' from illness most commonly refer to:

Answer: Positive reinforcers such as attention, avoidance of responsibilities, or disability benefits that can maintain sick role behavior

Secondary gains are unintended positive consequences of illness (care, avoidance of work, financial compensation) that can inadvertently reinforce symptom maintenance through operant conditioning.

Which intervention is best supported by evidence for managing insomnia comorbid with chronic pain?

Answer: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I)

CBT-I is the recommended first-line treatment for insomnia, including in chronic pain populations, demonstrating durable effects on sleep onset, maintenance, and pain interference.