BHS Health Psychology 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which theoretical model proposes that stress results from an imbalance between perceived demands and perceived resources?
- Lazarus and Folkman's Transactional Model (Correct answer)
- Selye's General Adaptation Syndrome
- Diathesis-Stress Model
- Social Cognitive Theory
Correct answer: Lazarus and Folkman's Transactional Model
The Transactional Model (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984) frames stress as a person-environment transaction based on appraisal of demands versus available coping resources.
Question 2: The 'tend-and-befriend' stress response pattern, proposed by Taylor et al., is most commonly observed in:
- Older adults under chronic stress
- Women under acute stress (Correct answer)
- Men with high cortisol reactivity
- Children with insecure attachment
Correct answer: Women under acute stress
Taylor et al. (2000) proposed that women tend to respond to stress by nurturing offspring and seeking social support rather than fight-or-flight.
Question 3: A patient avoids all physical activity after a heart attack, fearing another cardiac event. This behavior is best explained by which concept?
- Secondary gain
- Illness intrusiveness
- Fear-avoidance model (Correct answer)
- Sick role theory
Correct answer: Fear-avoidance model
The fear-avoidance model describes how pain or illness-related fear leads to avoidance behaviors that paradoxically worsen long-term outcomes.
Question 4: Which stage of the Transtheoretical Model describes a person who has maintained a health behavior change for more than six months?
- Action
- Preparation
- Maintenance (Correct answer)
- Termination
Correct answer: Maintenance
In the Maintenance stage, the individual has sustained the new behavior beyond six months and works to prevent relapse.
Question 5: Allostatic load refers to:
- The cumulative physiological wear from chronic stress (Correct answer)
- The maximum cortisol level tolerated before organ damage
- A measure of immune system suppression under psychological stress
- The adaptive remodeling of the HPA axis after trauma
Correct answer: The cumulative physiological wear from chronic stress
Allostatic load captures the cumulative 'wear and tear' on the body caused by repeated or chronic activation of the stress response.
Question 6: Which pain theory introduced the concept of a 'gate' in the spinal cord that modulates pain signals?
- Specificity Theory
- Pattern Theory
- Gate Control Theory (Correct answer)
- Neuromatrix Theory
Correct answer: Gate Control Theory
Melzack and Wall's Gate Control Theory (1965) proposed that a neural 'gate' in the dorsal horn can open or close pain transmission based on competing signals.
Question 7: In health behavior research, the term 'self-efficacy' specifically refers to:
- Motivation derived from external rewards
- Confidence in one's ability to perform a specific behavior (Correct answer)
- Awareness of health risks associated with a behavior
- Perceived social pressure to adopt a healthy behavior
Correct answer: Confidence in one's ability to perform a specific behavior
Bandura defined self-efficacy as one's belief in their capacity to execute behaviors necessary to produce specific outcomes in a given domain.
BHS Health Psychology 2
Which theoretical model proposes that stress results from an imbalance between perceived demands and perceived resources?