Describe what psychologists have discovered about individual factors in changing health beliefs.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2018). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [criterion] Individual factors in changing health beliefs, including the following: unrealistic optimism (Weinstein, 1980)
2. [criterion] Individual factors in changing health beliefs, including the following: transtheoretical model (Prochaska et al., 1997)
3. [criterion] Individual factors in changing health beliefs, including the following: health change in adolescents (Lau, 1990)
4. [criterion] Unrealistic optimism (Weinstein, 1980): Two studies. Study 1 found college students rated their own changes to be above average for experiencing positive events and below average for experiencing negative events from a list of 42. Study 2 asked students to list factors they thought would influence their own chances of experiencing 8 future events. When a second group of students read it they reported less unrealistic optimism for the same 8 events. This led the researchers to conclude that the unrealistic optimism was only experienced people focus on their own chances of achieving these outcomes and don't realise that others may have just as many factors in their favour.
5. [criterion] Transtheoretical model (Prochaska et al., 1997): Health behaviour change involves progress through six stages of change: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, and termination. 10 processes identified to help individuals move from one stage to the next (e.g. self-liberation and helping relationships). Stagematched interventions (where the therapy matches the stage of change the patient is at) and proactive recruitment procedures have been to bring about dramatic improvements in recruitment, retention and progress towards change in health behaviours.
6. [criterion] Health change in adolescents (Lau, 1990): Longitudinal study of college students using self report questionnaires on health belief such as drinking, diet, exercise and wearing seat belts. Found peers do have a strong impact on the performance of health behaviours. But parents were more important as sources of influence over beliefs and behaviours.
7. [Table A] Mark according to the levels of response descriptors in Table A.
8. [criterion] Other appropriate responses should also be credited.
9. [criterion] A range of issues could be used for evaluation here. These include: Named issue - Individual and situational factors that could affect changing health beliefs. Weinstein offers both a situational and an individual explanation. The imagined future life events that could happen to people (e.g. living past 80) are situational but how we interpret these events are individual. In addition, whether a person believes these events will happen to them is individual. The stages of change a person will go through (Prochaska et al. – transtheoretical model) is individual. Each person will go through the stages in their own way and at their own rate. But they can be helped (or even hindered) through the stages by situational factors (e.g. the support of others). Lau looks at situational factors and the effects these have on health changes and beliefs in adolescents (e.g. the effects of parents and peers on health beliefs).
10. [criterion] A range of issues could be used for evaluation here. These include: Usefulness (application of psychology to everyday life) of theories about individual factors in changing health beliefs – if we can discover the causes of the factors that people believe are affecting their health then we can challenge unhelpful beliefs via the media, doctors, parents, schools, universities, etc.
11. [criterion] A range of issues could be used for evaluation here. These include: Generalisability of the samples used for the studies on individual factors - Lau's study – students admitted to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. Weinstein also used college students
12. [criterion] A range of issues could be used for evaluation here. These include: Evaluation of method for studies on individual factors (e.g. Reliability, validity, ethics, ecological validity)
13. [criterion] A range of issues could be used for evaluation here. These include: Evaluation of data collection methods used for studies on individual factors - questionnaire data using quantitative methods collected by Lau and Weinstein
14. [Table B] Mark according to the levels of response descriptors in Table B.
15. [criterion] Other appropriate responses should also be credited.