Psychological principles and health behaviour change
Lisette van Gemert-Pijnen, Saskia M. Kelders, Hanneke Kip, Robbert Sanderman in eHealth Research, Theory and Development, 2018
A theory can be defined as ‘a set of concepts and/or statements which specify how phenomena relate to each other’. In psychology, theory provides an organizing description of a system that accounts for what is known, and explains and predicts phenomena (Davis, Campbell, Hildon, Hobbs, & Michie, 2015). In the case of health behaviour change, theories provide a mechanism to encapsulate existing knowledge about how variations in interventions produce a desired behaviour change. In addition, theories provide explanations and predictions that support the generalization of findings from past work into future areas of inquiry and use (Noar & Zimmerman, 2005). These theories can be used to explain and predict both healthy and unhealthy behaviour that will be targeted by the intervention. A thorough understanding of behaviour and its predictors is required to find out what the intervention should focus on and how this should be done. Theories can guide developers in getting a grasp of the behaviour that their intervention will target.
Theories and Models of Health Behavior Change
Deborah Fish Ragin in Health Psychology, 2017
A number of theories and models in psychology explain human behavior. Some are designed specifically to identify factors that explain or predict health behaviors whereas others were intended to explain general behaviors. In this chapter, we will examine five theories or models employed by health psychologists to explain a range of health behaviors: expectancy value theory, the theory of planned behavior, the health belief model, social cognitive theory, and the transtheoretical model of behavior change. Expectancy value theory (EVT), the theory of planned behavior (TPB), and the social cognitive theory (SCT) were developed originally to explain general human behavior. They have been adapted for use in health psychology to explain health behaviors. Others, including the health belief model (HBM) and the transtheoretical model of behavior change (TTM), were developed specifically as health behavior models. We will also examine a technique called social marketing which, although not a model, has been found to influence actions including health behaviors. Finally, consistent with the research in this field, we will explore blended models, a combination of several models designed to improve our ability to explain or predict health activities.
Psychological models of pain
Jennifer Corns in The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Pain, 2017
In experimental settings, where the pain has little or no threat value, and social relationships are constrained by design, it is possible to manipulate some pain-related behaviors, particularly verbal ones, by systematic positive or negative reinforcement: the model predicts behaviors well. In clinical settings many other variables apply and it is difficult to isolate or observe behavioral contingencies. Despite this, and the objections of Fordyce and colleagues (Fordyce et al. 1968), behavioral explanations were adopted in psychiatric practice and often subsumed in adverse moral judgements of patients. Rewarding behavioral consequences, such as attention, sympathy, and relief from unwanted duties, were assumed to govern behavior, rather than observed, and were therefore reversed in order to change the behavior. While this is not a failure of the model itself, it was clear that contingencies alone could not adequately explain behavior in chronic pain, in clinical settings or in the patients’ own environments. Just as in the conceptualization of anxiety in the broader field of psychology, behavioral theories gave way to cognitive theory.
“Are you calling me a liar”? Clinical interviewing more for trust than knowledge with high-risk men with antisocial personality disorder
Published in International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 2018
This does not mean that the clinician’s expertise and training is not important. It is, in fact, vitally important but should be used appropriately and applied to “being with” rather than “knowing about.” In other words, psychological theory should be used to help the clinician remain hopeful, compassionate, and authentic—helping them to understand that challenges are manifestations of distress and to communicate an understanding of the person that is likely to resonate with their internal self. In our work we have found it important to articulate what we know is likely to be true of the men we work with: for example: “Although I can’t know what it’s like to be you, I do know that people with similar problems have usually been through a great deal,” “we know that when someone has experienced some awful things in their childhood, a lot of the feelings are still exactly the same when they are adults.”
The Evolution of Psychological Testing at the Austen Riggs Center: A Theoretical Analysis
Published in Journal of Personality Assessment, 2019
Jeremy M. Ridenour, Brittany Zimmerman
Despite these limitations, this study offers a longitudinal perspective on a stable institution's use of assessment measures on a relatively consistent patient population. It illustrates the impact that theory and concepts have on the actual practice of psychology. We were able to track the influence of institutional shifts (e.g., changes in leadership or preferred psychological theories) that influenced the theory underlying the reports. Furthermore, larger developments in psychoanalysis and psychological testing correlated with the psychologists' implicit models. Finally, there was some attempt to associate the changes in the reports with the shifts in sociohistorical landscape that invariably influence people's understanding of themselves and their world. This study demonstrates the impact that evolving sociohistorical forces, professional developments, and institutional factors have on the practice of psychology.
Impact of psychological profile on drug adherence and drug resistance in patients with apparently treatment-resistant hypertension
Published in Blood Pressure, 2018
Géraldine Petit, Elena Berra, Coralie M.G. Georges, Arnaud Capron, Qi-Fang Huang, Marilucy Lopez-Sublet, Franco Rabbia, Jan A. Staessen, Pierre Wallemacq, Philippe de Timary, Alexandre Persu
As a whole, our data are in agreement with theories of health psychology suggesting the existence of two important mechanisms explaining the relationship between psychological factors and the occurence and/or persistence of medical problems. The first is a physiological pathway in which psychological factors (in this case self-blame and blame of others) have a direct impact on the occurrence of physical problems and/or diseases, by affecting biological processes such as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenergic axis [33] or the sympathetic nervous system. The second pathway is behavioral: psychological impairments (in this case, low capacity for putting things into perspective and somatization) induce behavioral changes such as risk-taking, addictions, or in this case, poor treatment adherence, which indirectly leads to the occurrence of physical problems. The interrelations between these different mechanisms, both contributing to resistant arterial hypertension, are shown schematically in Figure 2. Furthermore, given the important correlations found with the traumatic experience related variables, we suggest that whatever the mechanism leading to aTRH, psychological disturbances probably have their roots in past traumatic experiences. The percentage of traumatic experiences as well as of individuals meeting the criteria for PTSD (following the DSM-IV [26]) was indeed higher in our aTRH sample compared to what is usually reported in the normal population [34]. In particular, highly traumatic events as the premature death of a close family, rape, violence or abuse were remarkably often reported.
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