BEHAVIORAL MEDICINE- EXAM 2 QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS 2024
What is the definition of an attitude? - Answers- The evaluations of people, objects, or
ideas
Attitude predicts behavior
Can be positive/negative to some degree (valenced)
What is an attitude made up of? - Answers- The combination of affective, behavioral,
and cognitive reactions to an object
Affective: based on emotions toward an object
Behavioral: based on your actions toward attitude object (feelings); "the weakest link"
Cognitive: based on beliefs about the properties of an object; "the least sexy"
Affective and cognitive reactions > behavioral
Can you have a combination of affective, behavioral, and cognitive aspects? - Answers-
Yes. Example: affectively you like music with swears in them while working out, but
when you sit down and listen, cognitively you do not like it
Understanding the base of attitude for persuasion - Answers- When persuading
someone, you need to use the same reaction. For example...
- Can't fight affective with cognitive: your friend has a boyfriend who isn't good for her.
You try to explain this to her cognitively ("he's cheated on you, stood you up, etc.") but
this usually won't be effective.
- Can fight affective with affective by appealing to emotion: "remember how sad you felt
when he stood you up?"
Persuasion - Answers- The act of changing someone's mind
Why is persuasion often unsuccessful? - Answers- Factual information is used to try
and persuade people to give up a bad health behavior or to promote a good one, but
often is unsuccessful because...
- Many people know that a behavior is unhealthy but continue to engage in it
- Example of using rational arguments
Persuasive communications - Answers- Many psychological theories can help design
more successfully persuasive health communications because many people may not
know what type of information will be most persuasive to them
,Health behaviors: problems with focusing on risk - Answers- People do not always
perceive their risks correctly
- "happens to other people, not me" mentality
Testing positive for a risk factor causes worry and restrictive behavior
- how much alarm is appropriate to create?
- ex: most people have been exposed to HSV1, but it's incredibly common (the majority
of the world's population carries it. For this reason, it is not included in standard STI
testing because it would cause unnecessary alarm
Health behaviors: ethical issues - Answers- - When is it appropriate to alarm at-risk
people?
- Some may react defensively
- Sometimes there is no successful intervention
- Emphasizing risks can raise complicated issues of family dynamics (ex: family
members trying to help but it is not perceived well)
Yale Attitude Change Approach - Answers- The study of the conditions under which
people are most likely to change their attitudes in response to persuasive messages,
focusing on the source of the communication, the nature of the communication, and the
nature of the audience
WHO says WHAT to WHOM
Yale Attitude Change Approach: source of the communication - Answers- Credibility
- competence or expertise (white coat conveys "expertise" --> used in commercials
often)
- trustworthiness (what does this person have to gain? Ex: pharmacist = trustworthy
because they have nothing to gain; used care salesman = untrustworthy because they
make money off of it)
Likeability
- attractiveness and personality attributes (Disney princess effect= pretty people seen
as nicer, smarter, etc. In return, they get better benefits and raises)
- Groups: in-group, desirable (relevance; someone you want to emulate)
Similar to audience
- someone who looks like you, similar, that "gets it," etc.
- mirror and match: recreating someone's body language makes them unconsciously
feel a connection with you
- This is why representation in healthcare matters!
Source similarity: Kalichman, Kelly, Hunter, Murphy & Tyler study - Answers- Randomly
assigned 106 Black women to watch one of 3 video tapes on HIV risk prevention
- White woman broadcaster
- Black woman broadcaster
, - Black woman broadcaster who also used culturally relevant themes (pride, community
concern, family responsibility)
Two weeks later, women who had watched either of the Black women broadcaster's
tapes were more likely to have had discussions of AIDS with friends and have been
tested for AIDS
More likely to request condoms at the follow up (88% and 91% vs. 50%)
Yale Attitude Change Approach: nature of the communication - Answers- AKA message
Motive behind communication
- is the motive to influence obvious?
Arguments
- short, clear, direct
- strong arguments at the beginning and end
- one vs. two-sided: one-sided is used if you cannot address all of the concerns
whereas two-sided is used if you can address the objections/ concerns in a
counterargument --> two sided is better than one-sided
Discrepancy
- extreme ("quit cold turkey")
- moderate (limiting)
- Ex: decreasing alcohol intake is more persuasive when moderate because it's within
the latitude of acceptance as opposed to extreme
Latitude of acceptance - Answers- The range of ideas that a person sees as
reasonable or worthy of consideration
Yale Attitude Change Approach: nature of the audience - Answers- Attributes of the
audience that make them more or less willing to be persuaded (intelligences, attention
span, etc.)
Emotional appeals - Answers- The use of emotionally arousing messages instead of
rational arguments
- people want to maintain positive moods = some ads try to have positive stimuli
- the majority of health promotion ads use fear as a key emotion
- fear-based messages are designed to increase people's feeling of vulnerability to
health problems as a way of instilling change (doesn't always work, especially when
people are already addicted)
- emotion-based messages are especially effective if the person isn't very involved in or
concerned about the message
Lysol and birth control - Answers- - "feminine hygiene" was a euphemism for birth
control
ANSWERS 2024
What is the definition of an attitude? - Answers- The evaluations of people, objects, or
ideas
Attitude predicts behavior
Can be positive/negative to some degree (valenced)
What is an attitude made up of? - Answers- The combination of affective, behavioral,
and cognitive reactions to an object
Affective: based on emotions toward an object
Behavioral: based on your actions toward attitude object (feelings); "the weakest link"
Cognitive: based on beliefs about the properties of an object; "the least sexy"
Affective and cognitive reactions > behavioral
Can you have a combination of affective, behavioral, and cognitive aspects? - Answers-
Yes. Example: affectively you like music with swears in them while working out, but
when you sit down and listen, cognitively you do not like it
Understanding the base of attitude for persuasion - Answers- When persuading
someone, you need to use the same reaction. For example...
- Can't fight affective with cognitive: your friend has a boyfriend who isn't good for her.
You try to explain this to her cognitively ("he's cheated on you, stood you up, etc.") but
this usually won't be effective.
- Can fight affective with affective by appealing to emotion: "remember how sad you felt
when he stood you up?"
Persuasion - Answers- The act of changing someone's mind
Why is persuasion often unsuccessful? - Answers- Factual information is used to try
and persuade people to give up a bad health behavior or to promote a good one, but
often is unsuccessful because...
- Many people know that a behavior is unhealthy but continue to engage in it
- Example of using rational arguments
Persuasive communications - Answers- Many psychological theories can help design
more successfully persuasive health communications because many people may not
know what type of information will be most persuasive to them
,Health behaviors: problems with focusing on risk - Answers- People do not always
perceive their risks correctly
- "happens to other people, not me" mentality
Testing positive for a risk factor causes worry and restrictive behavior
- how much alarm is appropriate to create?
- ex: most people have been exposed to HSV1, but it's incredibly common (the majority
of the world's population carries it. For this reason, it is not included in standard STI
testing because it would cause unnecessary alarm
Health behaviors: ethical issues - Answers- - When is it appropriate to alarm at-risk
people?
- Some may react defensively
- Sometimes there is no successful intervention
- Emphasizing risks can raise complicated issues of family dynamics (ex: family
members trying to help but it is not perceived well)
Yale Attitude Change Approach - Answers- The study of the conditions under which
people are most likely to change their attitudes in response to persuasive messages,
focusing on the source of the communication, the nature of the communication, and the
nature of the audience
WHO says WHAT to WHOM
Yale Attitude Change Approach: source of the communication - Answers- Credibility
- competence or expertise (white coat conveys "expertise" --> used in commercials
often)
- trustworthiness (what does this person have to gain? Ex: pharmacist = trustworthy
because they have nothing to gain; used care salesman = untrustworthy because they
make money off of it)
Likeability
- attractiveness and personality attributes (Disney princess effect= pretty people seen
as nicer, smarter, etc. In return, they get better benefits and raises)
- Groups: in-group, desirable (relevance; someone you want to emulate)
Similar to audience
- someone who looks like you, similar, that "gets it," etc.
- mirror and match: recreating someone's body language makes them unconsciously
feel a connection with you
- This is why representation in healthcare matters!
Source similarity: Kalichman, Kelly, Hunter, Murphy & Tyler study - Answers- Randomly
assigned 106 Black women to watch one of 3 video tapes on HIV risk prevention
- White woman broadcaster
- Black woman broadcaster
, - Black woman broadcaster who also used culturally relevant themes (pride, community
concern, family responsibility)
Two weeks later, women who had watched either of the Black women broadcaster's
tapes were more likely to have had discussions of AIDS with friends and have been
tested for AIDS
More likely to request condoms at the follow up (88% and 91% vs. 50%)
Yale Attitude Change Approach: nature of the communication - Answers- AKA message
Motive behind communication
- is the motive to influence obvious?
Arguments
- short, clear, direct
- strong arguments at the beginning and end
- one vs. two-sided: one-sided is used if you cannot address all of the concerns
whereas two-sided is used if you can address the objections/ concerns in a
counterargument --> two sided is better than one-sided
Discrepancy
- extreme ("quit cold turkey")
- moderate (limiting)
- Ex: decreasing alcohol intake is more persuasive when moderate because it's within
the latitude of acceptance as opposed to extreme
Latitude of acceptance - Answers- The range of ideas that a person sees as
reasonable or worthy of consideration
Yale Attitude Change Approach: nature of the audience - Answers- Attributes of the
audience that make them more or less willing to be persuaded (intelligences, attention
span, etc.)
Emotional appeals - Answers- The use of emotionally arousing messages instead of
rational arguments
- people want to maintain positive moods = some ads try to have positive stimuli
- the majority of health promotion ads use fear as a key emotion
- fear-based messages are designed to increase people's feeling of vulnerability to
health problems as a way of instilling change (doesn't always work, especially when
people are already addicted)
- emotion-based messages are especially effective if the person isn't very involved in or
concerned about the message
Lysol and birth control - Answers- - "feminine hygiene" was a euphemism for birth
control
