PSY 605 Study Guide - Sick Role

• School: Ryerson University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSY 605
• Professor: Rebecca Todd

Document Summary

Seeking medical attention: disease: process of physical damage within the body, can even exist with the absence of diagnosis. People can have a disease and not be ill. Illness: experience of being sick and having a diagnosis: dealing with symptoms occurs in 2 stages: Illness behaviour: activities undertaken by people who experience symptoms but have not yet received a diagnosis; illness behaviour occur. Before diagnosis: sick role behaviour: behaviour of people after a diagnosis; people engage in sick role behaviour to get well, thus, a diagnosis separates illness behaviour from sick role behaviour. Six conditions that shape peoples response to symptoms: personal factors: personality traits, peoples way of viewing their own body, levels of stress and their, people tend to have 5 things in their concept of disease: 1. identity of the disease (disease with worse identity more likely to seek treatment) time line of disease (acute vs. chronic)