Health and Clinical Psychology Theories

• Cognitive approach that identifies the factors that indicated the possiblity of an individual adopting a health behaviour
• A results of the individual's attitudes and beliefs
• There are 6 stages the changing behaviour:

1 - Perveived Susceptibility: How much you believe you will have a condition

2 - Perceived Severity: Whethere you believe it will be serious or not

3 - Perceived Benefits: What are the benefits if the behaviour is changed

4 - Perceived Barriers: What is stopping them

5 - Cues to action: Things that will remind, or make them forget, an action

6 - Self-efficacy: Beliefs they can achieve a recommended action

• The level of control a person has will affect their behaviour
• Internal Contol - Controlled by you
• External Control - Controlled by luck and fate

• How effective a person thinks they will be at successfully adopting a health behaviour
• Based on the thought processes of an individual
• There are 3 things which affect a person's self efficacy:

1 - Vicariour experiences: seeing other people do something successful

2 - Verbal Persuasion: someone else telling you that you can do something

3 - Emotional Arousal: Too much anxiety can reduce self-efficacy

• Cognitive approach that involves restructing thought that contribute to stress
• There are 3 main components to SIT:

1 - Patient becomes aware of the thoughts they have in a stressful situation

2 - Develop coping stratergies by being taught to restructure their thoughts

3 - Put what has been learnt into a real life situation

• Biofeedback is simply the ffedback of biological functionings to a patient
• Visual and audible feedback on the state of the body is given to allow them to monitor their stress levels
• Allows them to see how their actions are actively affecting their stress levels

• Social networks provide support from friends and family to a patient
• No therapist is required for social support to affect stress levels
• It is unclear how social support redcues stress, but it has shown that it does