Conducting Health
Research
Health Psychology
I. Scientific Foundations of
Health Psych
• Psychology
• Epidemiology
II. Psychology’s 5 Contributions
• Techniques for _________________
• Focus on health
• Developed _______________________
health/illness behaviors
• Created theoretical models to explain &
predict behaviors
• Scientific method to study behaviors
Research Methods in Psych
• _________________
– DFN: detailed in-depth study of ONE person
– e.g., 80 yr old Latino man with diabetes and
lung cancer
– Pro: Lots of info, great for rare/special cases
– Con: Can’t generalize (magnifies sampling
error)
• Correlational studies
– DFN: degree of relationship between two
variables
– e.g., # stressful life events & heart attack
– Correlation coefficient: -1.00 to +1.00
– Pro: Shows direction of influence
(positive/negative)
– Con: Can’t determine ______________
___________________
• Cross-Sectional studies
– DFN: compares groups at _________________
– e.g., anxiety of Psych majors vs. non-majors on
1st day of this class
– Pro: Shows differences between grps
– Con: Can’t see trends over time
• ______________________ studies
– DFN: compares groups over time
– e.g., anxiety of Psych majors vs. non-majors
this class over the semester
– Pro: Shows developing trends & changes
– Con: Expensive, takes long time
• Experimental Designs
– DFN: manipulates independent variable &
observes its effect on dependent variable
– e.g., look at heart disease in low fat diet (tx grp)
and regular diet (control grp)
– Con: Can be too fake/artificial
– Pro: Shows causation, can control placebo &
nocebo effects
DFNs
• Placebo = positive effects based on positive
expectation (e.g., sugar pill)
• Hawthorne effect = improvement due to
_______________ (e.g., of doctor)
• Nocebo = negative effects (e.g., voodoo
death)
• Ex Post Facto Designs
– DFN: contrasts groups with a ______________
subject variable (no manipulation of
independent variable)
– e.g., look at heart disease in nondrinkers, light
drinkers, moderate drinkers, & heavy drinkers
– Pro: Uses real life differences
– Con: Can’t determine causation (similar to
correlational studies)
III. Contributions of
Epidemiology
• DFNs:
• Epidemiology = studies factors
contributing to disease in a _____________
• Mortality = # deaths due to particular cause
• Morbidity = # cases of a disease
– Prevalence = proportion of population with a
disease at a certain time (# existing cases)
– Incidence = # of new cases of a disease during
a certain time (a year)
3 Purposes of Epidemiological
Studies
• Determine __________ of specific diseases
• Test if hypotheses are consistent with data
• Evaluate prevention procedures
Research Methods in
Epidemiology
• Observational Methods
– Retrospective (Case-control studies)
– Prospective
• DFN: Retrospective = Looking back
– Compare people who already have disease to
people who don’t
• DFN: _____________ = Following forward
– Longitudinal, compares cohort over time
• DFN: cohort = group starting an experience
together
• Natural Experiments
– DFN: contrasts groups with naturally occurring
differences (no manipulation of independent
variable)
– e.g., radioactive spill
– Pro: Uses ______________ differences
– Con: Can’t determine causation
• Experimental Investigations
– DFN: manipulates independent variable (IV) &
observes its effect on dependent variable (DV)
– RARE in Epidem
– e.g., clinical trials, community trials
– DFN: Double-blind = experimenter &
__________________ don’t know who receives
placebo or independent variable (IV)
IV. Comparing Psych & Epidem
•
•
•
•
•
•
Case
Correlational
Cross-Sectional
Longitudinal
Ex Post Facto
Experimental
•
•
•
•
•
•
-Observational
Retrospective
______________
Natural
Experimental
Epidem Example: John Snow
• 1848: Cholera epidemic in London
• Homes along certain _______________ had
higher rates
• Shut off those ________________