Test Bank For
Health Psychology A Lifespan Approach Julie M. Gamble-Turner, Tara J.
Cheetham-Blake
Chapters 1-14
Chapter 1
1. Briefly describe how the field of health psyc hology is defined
Ans: The British Psychological Society (BPS) Division of Health Psychology (DHP) defines
the goal of health psychology as being the study of:
‘psychological processes underlying health, illness and health care, and to apply these
findings to the promotion and maintenance of health, the analysis and improvement of the
health care system and health policy formation, the prevention of illness and disability, and
the enhancement of outcomes for those who are ill or disabled’.
2. Which model underpins health psychology?
a. The biomedical model
b. The biopsychosocial model
c. The psychodynamic model
d. The allopathic model
Ans: B.
The biopsychosocial model
3. The idea that the mind and body are connected is a 21st-century one
True
False
Ans: False
Mind-body connections have been believed and practised since the Stone Age: they are not
new but have waxed, waned, evolved and developed over the centuries.
4. What was the essence of George Engel’s (1977) argument for the biopsychosocial model
of health?
,a. Individual differences in susceptibility and vulnerability to illness are not adequately
explained by the biomedical model
b. Stress causes illness
c. Sociocultural factors are the main causes of illness
d. Only psychosocial factors are important in health and illness
Ans: A.
Individual differences in susceptibility and vulnerability to illness are not adequately
explained by the biomedical model. Note: Whilst stress, sociocultural factors and
psychosocial factors are all key components of the biopsychosocial model, they relate to
individual differences, which is the underlying premise: biological, psychological and social
factors interact.
5. Name three applications of the biopsychosocial model
Ans: Examples could include:
Health promotion for alcohol reduction, smoking cessation, diet improvement, increase
in exercise, encouragement of safer sexual practices
Reduce stress, increase social support, develop coping strategies to improve
psychological and physical health
Reduce anxiety and depression to facilitate postoperative recovery
Psychoeducational approaches to cancer care
Pain reduction through psychological techniques
6. What is meant by the term health-related behaviours?
a. Taking the right medication
b. Diet and exercise
c. Sleep
d. Actions associated with promoting health, and preventing or reducing the risk of
developing illness or preventing its exacerbation
Ans: D
,Actions associated with promoting health, and preventing or reducing the risk of developing
illness or preventing its exacerbation. Note that A–C are some examples of health-related
behaviours.
7. What is the difference between the term lifespan and the term lifecourse?
a. Nothing, they mean the same
b. One refers to the period of time from cradle to grave; the other to the path or trajectory that
life takes
c. One is a UK term, the other a US term
d. One refers to children and adolescents, the other to older ages
Ans: B
One refers to the period of time from cradle to grave; the other to the path or trajectory that
life takes
8. What is the best term for referring to a person aged in their 80s?
a. A vicenarian
b. A quinquagenarian
c. A tricenarian
d. An octogenarian
Ans: D
An octogenarian
9. Give three examples of a lifecourse rupture
Ans: Examples of a lifecourse rupture could include pregnancy loss, divorce, occupational
burnout, illness diagnosis or treatment
10. Health or being healthy means a person does not have physical symptoms of illness
True
False
Ans: False
, Health or being healthy is more than the absence of physical symptoms of illness. Health is
‘a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of
disease or infirmity’ (WHO, 1946).
11. What are health perceptions?
a. How well a person looks
b. What a person thinks is healthy
c. The way an individual thinks and understands and the ideas and beliefs they hold about
illness and health
d. The realisation that life might not always go as planned
Ans: C
The way an individual thinks and understands and the ideas and beliefs they hold about
illness and health
12. What disease or condition is the most significant cause of death globally?
a. Road traffic collisions
b. Diabetes
c. Ischaemic heart disease
d. Dementias including Alzheimer’s disease
Ans: C
Ischaemic heart disease
Chapter 2: Key concepts in lifespan health psychology
1. Can you name three indices that are used to measure a person’s socioeconomic status?
Ans: Three indices that are used to measure a person’s socioeconomic status are educational
level, income, employment status/occupation
2. Which of the following two statements describe the central argument of social causation
theory?
a. People with poorer health drift into positions of lower social rank
Health Psychology A Lifespan Approach Julie M. Gamble-Turner, Tara J.
Cheetham-Blake
Chapters 1-14
Chapter 1
1. Briefly describe how the field of health psyc hology is defined
Ans: The British Psychological Society (BPS) Division of Health Psychology (DHP) defines
the goal of health psychology as being the study of:
‘psychological processes underlying health, illness and health care, and to apply these
findings to the promotion and maintenance of health, the analysis and improvement of the
health care system and health policy formation, the prevention of illness and disability, and
the enhancement of outcomes for those who are ill or disabled’.
2. Which model underpins health psychology?
a. The biomedical model
b. The biopsychosocial model
c. The psychodynamic model
d. The allopathic model
Ans: B.
The biopsychosocial model
3. The idea that the mind and body are connected is a 21st-century one
True
False
Ans: False
Mind-body connections have been believed and practised since the Stone Age: they are not
new but have waxed, waned, evolved and developed over the centuries.
4. What was the essence of George Engel’s (1977) argument for the biopsychosocial model
of health?
,a. Individual differences in susceptibility and vulnerability to illness are not adequately
explained by the biomedical model
b. Stress causes illness
c. Sociocultural factors are the main causes of illness
d. Only psychosocial factors are important in health and illness
Ans: A.
Individual differences in susceptibility and vulnerability to illness are not adequately
explained by the biomedical model. Note: Whilst stress, sociocultural factors and
psychosocial factors are all key components of the biopsychosocial model, they relate to
individual differences, which is the underlying premise: biological, psychological and social
factors interact.
5. Name three applications of the biopsychosocial model
Ans: Examples could include:
Health promotion for alcohol reduction, smoking cessation, diet improvement, increase
in exercise, encouragement of safer sexual practices
Reduce stress, increase social support, develop coping strategies to improve
psychological and physical health
Reduce anxiety and depression to facilitate postoperative recovery
Psychoeducational approaches to cancer care
Pain reduction through psychological techniques
6. What is meant by the term health-related behaviours?
a. Taking the right medication
b. Diet and exercise
c. Sleep
d. Actions associated with promoting health, and preventing or reducing the risk of
developing illness or preventing its exacerbation
Ans: D
,Actions associated with promoting health, and preventing or reducing the risk of developing
illness or preventing its exacerbation. Note that A–C are some examples of health-related
behaviours.
7. What is the difference between the term lifespan and the term lifecourse?
a. Nothing, they mean the same
b. One refers to the period of time from cradle to grave; the other to the path or trajectory that
life takes
c. One is a UK term, the other a US term
d. One refers to children and adolescents, the other to older ages
Ans: B
One refers to the period of time from cradle to grave; the other to the path or trajectory that
life takes
8. What is the best term for referring to a person aged in their 80s?
a. A vicenarian
b. A quinquagenarian
c. A tricenarian
d. An octogenarian
Ans: D
An octogenarian
9. Give three examples of a lifecourse rupture
Ans: Examples of a lifecourse rupture could include pregnancy loss, divorce, occupational
burnout, illness diagnosis or treatment
10. Health or being healthy means a person does not have physical symptoms of illness
True
False
Ans: False
, Health or being healthy is more than the absence of physical symptoms of illness. Health is
‘a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of
disease or infirmity’ (WHO, 1946).
11. What are health perceptions?
a. How well a person looks
b. What a person thinks is healthy
c. The way an individual thinks and understands and the ideas and beliefs they hold about
illness and health
d. The realisation that life might not always go as planned
Ans: C
The way an individual thinks and understands and the ideas and beliefs they hold about
illness and health
12. What disease or condition is the most significant cause of death globally?
a. Road traffic collisions
b. Diabetes
c. Ischaemic heart disease
d. Dementias including Alzheimer’s disease
Ans: C
Ischaemic heart disease
Chapter 2: Key concepts in lifespan health psychology
1. Can you name three indices that are used to measure a person’s socioeconomic status?
Ans: Three indices that are used to measure a person’s socioeconomic status are educational
level, income, employment status/occupation
2. Which of the following two statements describe the central argument of social causation
theory?
a. People with poorer health drift into positions of lower social rank
