Deck 1: Introducing Health Psychology

Question 1

In the United States during the early years of the 21st century,

A) deaths from Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases increased.
B) deaths from accidents increased significantly.
C) deaths from heart disease increased significantly.
D) deaths only moderately related to lifestyle decreased significantly.

Answer 1

deaths from Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases increased.

Question 2

During the last few years of the 20th century,chronic diseases in the United States

A) began to rise more rapidly than during the previous 50 years.
B) began to decrease while deaths not due to lifestyles began to increase.
C) began to increase while deaths not due to lifestyles began to decrease.
D) were replaced by acute diseases as the leading cause of death.

Answer 2

began to decrease while deaths not due to lifestyles began to increase.

Question 3

The single most important contributor to an increase in life expectancy is

A) the decrease in the infant mortality rate.
B) the increase in individuals' beliefs in the importance of exercise.
C) advancement in medical technology.
D) advancement in medical care.

Answer 3

the decrease in the infant mortality rate.

Question 4

Chronic diseases

A) develop and persist over a period of time.
B) are due to infectious agents such as bacteria or viruses.
C) are not as common today as during the 19th century.
D) include influenza and pneumonia.

Question 5

All of the following are factors in life expectancy EXCEPT:

A) age
B) education
C) ethnicity
D) mother's personality

Question 6

In the United States,the three leading causes of death for adults ages 35 to 44 are

A) unintentional injuries, cancer, and heart disease.
B) suicide, homicide, and HIV infection.
C) HIV infection, heart disease, and pneumonia.
D) cancer, HIV infection, and pneumonia.

Question 7

In 1900,most deaths in the United States were caused by ____,whereas today most are due to ____.

A) pneumonia. . . cancer
B) chronic diseases. . . cancer
C) infectious diseases. . . chronic diseases
D) cancer. . . alcohol-related causes

Question 8

The leading cause of death in the United States

A) is due to acute, infectious disease.
B) is due to risky sexual behaviors.
C) has shifted from cardiovascular disease to cancer.
D) has shifted from acute to chronic diseases.

Question 9

A century ago,life expectancy in the US was ______ years and currently life expectancy in the US is ______ years.

A) 20; 60
B) 30; 70
C) 50; 80
D) 50; 70

Question 10

Rhona is a 32-year-old African American college professor.Gena is a 32-year-old Hispanic American engineer.Leah is a 32-year-old European American who has been unemployed for most of the past 10 years and living below the poverty level.Helen is a 32-year-old Asian American dentist.The woman most at risk for poor health is

A) Rhona.
B) Gena.
C) Leah
D) Helen.

Question 11

What two factors can help explain some of the ethnic differences in health and life expectancy?

A) Poverty and age
B) Poverty and low education level
C) Low education level and age
D) Low education level and drug use

Question 12

People who graduate from college show the following positive outcomes EXCEPT

A) higher average incomes.
B) more likely to exercise.
C) better access to health care.
D) more likely to eat a high-fat diet.

Question 13

Cancer is the leading cause of death in which of the following ethnic groups?

A) European Americans
B) Hispanic Americans
C) African Americans
D) Asian Americans

Question 14

_________ diseases are a class of diseases that consist of heart disease,cancer,and stroke.

A) Infectious
B) Chronic
C) Unintentional
D) Cardiovascular

Question 15

The increase in life expectancy since 1900 is due mostly to

A) the decrease in cancer deaths.
B) the conquest of influenza.
C) major changes in lifestyle.
D) none of these.

Question 16

Cardiovascular disease and cancer account for about _____ of all deaths in the US.

A) 40%
B) 50%
C) 60%
D) 70%

Question 17

In the United States,young people have a low mortality rate; those who die are most likely to die from

A) cancer.
B) unintentional injuries.
C) homicide.
D) HIV infection.

Question 18

In the United States,people living below the poverty level generally

A) have low educational levels.
B) are more likely than other people to have health insurance.
C) are members of ethnic minority groups.
D) both a and c are correct.

Question 19

In the United States,young people ages 15 to 24 are most likely to die from _______ and _______.

A) cancer. . . . heart disease
B) unintentional injuries . . . . homicide
C) homicide . . . . cancer
D) suicide . . . . HIV infection

Question 20

People's beliefs about health and illness may be incorrect.Which of these common beliefs is true?

A) The United States ranks in the top five nations in the world in terms of life expectancy.
B) The 30-year increase in life expectancy that occurred in the United States during the 20th century was due mostly to improved medical care.
C) Good health is the absence of disease.
D) None of these is true.

Question 21

The discipline that emphasizes the prevention of illness and the enhancement of health in currently healthy people is called

A) behavioral health.
B) health psychology.
C) behavioral medicine.
D) medical psychology.

Question 22

Psychosomatic medicine sees physical illnesses as

A) having emotional and psychological components.
B) having biological causes.
C) causing stress and subsequent organic illnesses.
D) all of these.

Question 23

Which of the following has been the LEAST significant contributor to escalating medical costs?

A) increases in population
B) the aging of the population
C) more sophisticated medical technology
D) increases in the number of complex surgical procedures

Question 24

In Sheldon Cohen's research on the common cold,all participants received a cold virus injection and after a week,

A) all participants showed signs of having a cold.
B) only participants who were sick to begin with got a cold.
C) only health participants got a cold.
D) only participants who had dealt with a stressful experience got a cold.

Question 25

Health psychologists are most likely to see health

A) from a biomedical viewpoint.
B) from a biopsychosocial viewpoint.
C) as the absence of illness.
D) as a single dimensional condition.

Question 26

Presently,physicians and health psychologists are most likely to agree that psychosomatic illnesses are

A) a primary means of coping with acute pain.
B) all in the head of the person with the illness.
C) diseases linked to a complex of biological, psychological, and social factors.
D) flow from unconscious factors and are a means of reducing anxiety.

Question 27

College graduates generally live longer than people who drop out of high school.Which of these conditions is most likely to explain these differences?

A) College graduates are more likely to smoke cigars.
B) High school dropouts are more likely to seek health care.
C) High school dropouts are less likely to use illicit drugs.
D) College graduates are less likely to smoke cigarettes.

Question 28

During the past 30 years,death rate from heart disease in the United States has declined.At the same time,

A) medical costs have increased.
B) smoking rates have increased.
C) life expectancy has decreased.
D) acceptance of the biomedical model has increased.

Question 29

Which of these has been a major health trend in the U.S.since 1900?

A) Cost of medical care has risen faster than inflation.
B) Health has been more frequently defined as the absence of illness.
C) Acute illnesses have replaced chronic diseases as the leading causes of death.
D) The biomedical model has been accepted by most psychologists.

Question 30

In the biopsychosocial model proposed by the textbook's authors,health and disease outcomes flow DIRECTLY from

A) psychological factors.
B) biological factors.
C) sociological factors.
D) all of these.

Question 31

Cade attributes catching a "cold" to not getting enough sleep and feelings of distress.Thus,Cade has an implicit acceptance of the ____ model of health.

A) biochemical
B) biomedical
C) Cartesian
D) biopsychosocial

Question 32

The biomedical model of disease

A) was common during the 1800s but was replaced by the biopsychosocial model during the early 1900s.
B) views pathogens as the causes of disease.
C) is more common among the public than among health care professionals.
D) cannot explain infectious illness or the prevalence of viral illness.

Question 33

An inverse relationship exists between educational level and death rates,which means that

A) people who graduate from high school have higher death rates than those who do not.
B) people who attend college have higher death rates than those who drop out of high school.
C) people who attend college live longer than those who have never attended college.
D) both a and b

Question 34

Sheldon Cohen's research on the common cold showcase that the ________ approach to understanding sickness and infection is inadequate.

A) biopsychosocial
B) biomedical
C) the psychological
D) biochemical

Question 35

Health psychology is

A) a branch of medicine related to psychological health.
B) a discipline within psychology related to psychological health.
C) a new name for psychosomatic medicine.
D) a discipline within psychology related to health.

Question 36

Before 1950,psychologists were involved with physical health primarily in the area of

A) changing lifestyles.
B) changing attitudes.
C) pain management.
D) teaching in medical schools.

Question 37

Health psychology is best defined as the scientific study of those behaviors related to

A) the adoption of the sick role for persons who believe themselves to be ill.
B) health enhancement, disease prevention, and rehabilitation.
C) the development of psychosomatic illness.
D) the development of psychological and emotional illness.

Question 38

Many medical advances during the 19th century were prompted by the biomedical model that

A) emphasized emotional rather than physical factors in diseases.
B) replaced the Cartesian model.
C) led to a search for microscopic organisms that cause disease.
D) took a holistic view of health and disease.

Question 39

Behavioral medicine assumes

A) a link between individual behaviors and health.
B) the existence of a specific pathogen in illness.
C) that disease can be controlled, but that health cannot be enhanced.
D) that the goals of medicine and psychology are incompatible.

Question 40

In contrast to the biopsychosocial model,the biomedical model views health as

A) a positive condition.
B) an incorporation of psychological and social factors.
C) a result of a combination of factors such as genetics, beliefs, and stress.
D) the absence of disease.

Question 41

Janelle,a health psychologist,could do any of the following tasks EXCEPT

A) offer alternatives to pharmacological treatments.
B) provide behavioral interventions to treat physical disorders.
C) design effective health communication to promote positive physical health.
D) design drug trials to enable doctors to find a drug to treat breast cancer.

Question 42

The work of health psychologists is similar to other psychologists because it includes

A) counseling people with personal problems.
B) conducting research on personality and health habits.
C) assessment, research, and provision of services.
D) working in health care settings.

Question 43

Despite national media coverage to the contrary,poverty is not related to the mortality rate in the United States.

Question 44

Trace the development of behavioral medicine and health psychology.

Question 45

During the last quarter of the 20th century,psychology became involved in the changing field of health primarily by

A) treating physical diseases.
B) treating mental diseases.
C) studying behaviors that enhance health and prevent disease.
D) practicing psychosomatic medicine.

Question 46

Health psychologists are MOST likely to

A) be part of an interdisciplinary team.
B) work as a practitioner in a solo private practice.
C) go to medical school after finishing a doctoral degree in psychology.
D) do all of these.

Question 47

College graduates generally have a higher death rate than high school dropouts.

Question 48

Health psychologists rarely work in hospitals.

Question 49

Currently,the leading cause of death in the United States is cancer.

Question 50

Before the development of health psychology,how was psychology involved in health?

Question 51

Most people in the United States die of chronic diseases.

Question 52

Trace the changes in patterns of disease during the 20th century.Are there signs that those trends are changing? If so,how?

Question 53

The training of health psychologists includes earning doctoral degrees.

Question 54

What roles do age and ethnicity play in mortality?

Question 55

Stress is the leading cause of death in the United States.

Question 56

Death rates in the United States from both heart disease and cancer are declining.

Question 57

Health is generally defined as an absence of disease.

Question 58

Discuss the implications of the acceptance of the biopsychosocial model over the biomedical model.

Question 59

Most experts in health psychology recommend that

A) health psychologists should be physicians first.
B) health psychologists should receive at least two years of postdoctoral training.
C) health psychology should be a separate discipline from generic psychology.
D) the training of health psychologists should be shortened to meet the demands for workers in the field.

Question 60

African Americans have a higher death rate than European Americans.

Question 61

Discuss how the preparation and work of health psychologists differ from and are similar to those of other psychologists.