ASPPB Health Psychology & Behavioral Medicine 3

Question 1

The Transtheoretical Model (Stages of Change) identifies which of the following as the stage in which a person is actively engaged in changing a behavior but for less than six months?

Accepted Answer

Action

Answer

In the Action stage, individuals have made specific, overt modifications to their problem behavior within the past six months; Maintenance follows after six months of sustained change, while Contemplation and Preparation are pre-action stages.

Question 2

Psychophysiological disorders (sometimes called psychosomatic disorders) are best characterized as conditions in which:

Accepted Answer

Psychological factors play a significant role in initiating or exacerbating genuine physical pathology

Answer

Psychophysiological disorders involve real, verifiable physical conditions—such as asthma, hypertension, or irritable bowel syndrome—in which psychological factors (stress, emotion, behavior) demonstrably contribute to onset, severity, or maintenance.

Question 3

A psychologist working in a cardiac rehabilitation program would most likely focus on which of the following evidence-based interventions?

Accepted Answer

Psychoeducation, stress management, exercise adherence, and depression screening

Answer

Cardiac rehabilitation psychology emphasizes risk factor modification through psychoeducation, stress reduction (e.g., relaxation training), promotion of exercise adherence, smoking cessation support, and screening/treatment of depression and anxiety which worsen cardiac outcomes.

Question 4

The placebo effect in clinical research is best understood as:

Accepted Answer

A genuine psychobiological response to the expectation of treatment benefit

Answer

The placebo effect represents real neurobiological changes—including endorphin release, altered dopamine activity, and measurable physiological outcomes—driven by expectation, conditioning, and the therapeutic relationship, not mere imagination.

Question 5

Which of the following best describes the concept of allostatic load in health psychology?

Accepted Answer

The cumulative physiological wear and tear resulting from chronic stress and repeated adaptation

Answer

Allostatic load, coined by McEwen and Stellar, refers to the cumulative biological cost of repeated allostasis (adaptation to stressors) over time, reflected in dysregulation of multiple physiological systems including cardiovascular, metabolic, immune, and neuroendocrine.

(ASPPB) Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards Practice Test

(ASPPB) Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards Practice Test

ASPPB Health Psychology & Behavioral Medicine 3