Health Psychology: Theory, Research and Practice
Student Resources
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Who proposed the biopsychosocial model?
- Freud
- Sontag
- Engel
- none of these
Answer: C
2. In H.J. Eysenck’s twentieth-century theory of personality, how did he reinterpret the classical phlegmatic temperament?
- stable extravert
- stable introvert
- unstable extravert
- unstable introvert
Answer: B
3. There is ______ evidence that ‘positive’ psychological characteristics, including sense of coherence, are associated with reduced risk of CHD and all-cause mortality.
- no clear-cut
- substantial
- weak
- contradictory
Answer: B
4. Conscientiousness has been shown in many studies to be predictive of longevity. Why might this be?
- Conscientiousness is negatively related to many risky health-related behaviours and positively related to beneficial health-related behaviours.
- Conscientiousness is positively related to many risky health-related behaviours and negatively related to beneficial health-related behaviours.
- Conscientiousness leads to positive thinking.
- none of these
Answer: A
5. Why is it unsound to rely on self-reported illness when investigating possible causal links between personality and illness?
- People have poor memories of periods of illness, even recent ones.
- Some people always think that they are ill, even when doctors could tell them that they are perfectly alright.
- Some illnesses are much more serious than others, but it is impossible to know on the basis of self reports, how serious an illness actually is.
- People with certain personalities are much more likely than others to interpret minor symptoms as indicative of illness.
Answer: D
6. What was the main reason why the U.S. tobacco industry funded research on the type A personality and heart disease?
- It was thought that the results could undermine litigation based on the claim that smoking causes heart disease.
- It would put the industry in a good light as a responsible funder of health-related research.
- This research would divert attention away from findings linking smoking to lung cancer.
- This research could prove that smoking is not a cause of heart disease.
Answer: A
7. Which of the following personality traits has been shown to be most strongly predictive of a subsequent fatal heart attack?
- hostility
- internal locus of control
- anxiety
- introversion
Answer: C
8. In intervention studies targeting depression in individuals suffering from coronary heart disease, what was the approximate improvement in event-free survival rates for the most effective forms of therapy?
- 50%
- 30%
- 10%
- no improvement
Answer: D
9. In the study by Barraclough et al. (1992) of factors predicting subsequent recurrence of cancer following surgery for breast cancer, which of the following were found to be associated with a higher risk of recurrence?
- depression before surgery and during the follow-up period
- bereavement before surgery and during the follow-up period
- lack of a confiding relationship
- none of these
Answer: D
10. What do critics consider to be the most likely reason for finding a significant relationship between positive psychological characteristics, such as optimism and sense of coherence, and longevity?
- People who are basically happy and content are less likely to have clinically significant over-arousal of the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system.
- High levels of optimism and sense of coherence are correlated with better diet, greater levels of exercise and the avoidance of health hazardous behaviours such as smoking and excessive alcohol consumption.
- People with positive characteristics have a greater amount of social support, which in turn is known to be associated with good health.
- A sense of well-being is associated with less bodily tension and better sleep quality.
Answer: B