Psychology for Nurses and the Caring Professions (Social Science for Nurses and the Caring Professions)

288 Pages·2007·2.6 MB·English

by  Jan Walker

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PSYCHOLOGY FOR
NURSES AND THE
CARING PROFESSIONS

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SOCIAL SCIENCE FOR NURSES AND THE CARING PROFESSIONS
Series Editor: Professor Pamela Abbott
Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Glasgow Caledonian University,
Glasgow, Scotland
Current and forthcoming titles
Community Care for Nurses and the Caring Professions
Nigel Malin et al.
Epidemiology: An Introduction
Graham Moon, Myles Gould et al.
Nursing People in Psychiatric Systems
Chris Stevenson
Research Methods for Nurses and the Caring Professions
(2nd edn)
Pamela Abbott and Roger Sapsford
Research into Practice (2nd edn)
Edited by Pamela Abbott and Roger Sapsford
Social Perspectives on Pregnancy and Childbirth for Midwives,
Nurses and the Caring Professions
Julie Kent
Social Policy for Nurses and the Caring Professions
Louise Ackers and Pamela Abbott

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PSYCHOLOGY FOR
NURSES AND THE
CARING PROFESSIONS
3rd edition
Jan Walker, Sheila Payne,
Paula Smith and Nikki Jarrett

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Open University Press
McGraw-Hill Education
McGraw-Hill House
Shoppenhangers Road
Maidenhead
Berkshire
SL6 2QL
email: [email protected]
world wide web: www.openup.co.uk
and Two Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10121-2289, USA
First Published 1996. Reprinted 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 (twice), 2002
Second edition published 2004
First published in this third edition 2007 © Jan Walker, Sheila Payne, Paula Smith
and Nikki Jarrett 2007
All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purpose of
criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written
permission of the publisher or a licence from the Copyright Licensing Agency
Limited. Details of such licences (for reprographic reproduction) may be obtained
from the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd of Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street,
London EC1N 8TS.
A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library
ISBN10: 0 335 22386 9 (pb) 0 335 22385 0 (hb)
ISBN13: 978 0335 22386 2 (pb) 978 0335 22385 5 (hb)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
CIP data has been applied for
Typeset by RefineCatch Ltd, Bungay, Suffolk
Printed in Poland by OZ Graf. S.A.
www.polskabook.pl
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CONTENTS
Preface ix
Acknowledgements xi
Chapter1 Psychology in the context of health and social care 1
Key questions 1
Introduction 1
What is psychology? 1
Why is psychology important in health and social care? 2
The importance of working together 3
Current schools of thought in psychology 4
Psychological facts versus psychological theory 9
Research methods in psychology 10
Professionals involved in the prevention, management and
treatment of psychological problems 15
Psychology in practice: introduction to the scenario 16
Summary of key points 17
Chapter2 The perception of self and others 19
Key questions 19
Introduction 19
The self-concept 19
Self-esteem 23
Body image 23
Social roles 27
Attitudes 29
Stereotyping, prejudice, stigmatization and discrimination 30

Attribution theory 33
Personality and health 35
Summary of key points 39
Chapter3 Development and change across the lifespan 41
Key questions 41
Introduction 41
The development of thinking and understanding 42
Social development 49
Development in adolescence 55
Development in adult life 57
Development in later life 59
Approaching life’s end 61
Summary of key points 63
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vi Psychology for nurses and the caring professions
Chapter4 Memory, understanding and information-giving 65
Key questions 65
Introduction 65
Memory 65
Short-term memory 67
Long-term memory 70
Understanding 71
Mental schemas and scripts 71
Recall and false memories 73
Context-specific memories 74
Forgetting 74
Memory loss 75
Communicating effectively with patients 78
Breaking bad news 80
Summary of key points 82
Chapter5 Learning and social learning 84
Key questions 84
Introduction 84
Types of learning 84
Background to the development of learning theory 85
Conditioning theories 86
The importance of fear-reduction in hospital settings 89
Fear, avoidance and phobias 90
Operant conditioning 91
Lifestyle and behaviour 95
Behaviour modification 96
Self-modification 98
Reinforcement or control 100
Learned helplessness, uncontrollability and depression 100
Social learning theory 102
Self-efficacy 103
Locus of control 104
Applying behavioural principles to designing a health

education programme 106
Summary of key points 108
Chapter6 Understanding anxiety, depression and loss 109
Key questions 109
Introduction 109
What is an emotion? 109
What do we mean by anxiety and how can it be managed? 111
Comparing different approaches to anxiety and its management 113
What do we mean by depression and how can it be managed? 116
Theories of depression and approaches to management 117
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) 121
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) 122
Dealing with loss 124
Hope 131
Summary of key points 133
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Contents vii
Chapter7 Social influence and interaction 134
Key questions 134
Introduction 134
Persuasion 134
Audience influences and effects 140
Obedience 141
Conformity 143
Social desirability 145
Helping others 146
Non-verbal communication 148
Interpersonal skills 149
Group interaction 153
Leadership styles 155
Summary of key points 155
Chapter8 Stress and coping 157
Key questions 157
Introduction 157
Definitions of stress 158
The transactional model of stress and coping 159
Cognitive appraisal 159
Coping 162
Review of the transactional model of stress 163
Stress and stress-related illness (psychoneuroimmunology) 164
Mediators and moderators of stress and stress-related illness 167
Social support 171
Other mediators of appraisal and coping 175
Stress in different contexts 179
The reduction and management of stress 182
Summary of key points 184
Chapter9 Psychology applied to health and illness 185
Key questions 185
Introduction 185

Defining health, illness and disease 186
Promoting health and preventing ill health 187
Social cognition 189
The health belief model (HBM) 189
The theory of planned behaviour (TPB) 191
Stages of change (transtheoretical) model 195
Self-regulatory theory: the importance of having a goal 198
The motivational interview 200
Medical help-seeking 200
Tertiary prevention: managing illness 201
Understanding chronic illness 204
Self-management in chronic illness 207
Summary of key points 211
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viii Psychology for nurses and the caring professions
Chapter10 Psychology of pain 213
Key questions 213
Introduction 213
Perceiving and expressing pain 213
Gate control theory of pain 214
Learning to perceive and express pain 216
Psychological principles of pain assessment 219
The aim of pain management 225
Types of pain 226
Psychological issues in acute pain 227
Psychological issues in terminal illness 229
Psychological issues in chronic or persistent benign pain 231
Evidence-based therapies for acute and chronic pain 235
Case Study: Pam 237
Summary of key points 242
Exercises 244
Glossary 246
References 251
Index 269

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PREFACE
This book aims to encourage those working in the fields of health and social
care to use psychological knowledge to enhance their practice. Topics have
been selected to reflect priorities in the delivery of person-centred care,
drawing on classical psychological theory and research as well as con-
temporary developments and applications in health psychology. Our aim
throughout is to illustrate how practitioners can apply this knowledge in
their everyday work.
The text for this third edition has been comprehensively updated to
include new theoretical concepts and contemporary research. We have very
carefully selected psychological theory and research that, in our opinion,
will enhance practice in health and social care. In preparing this text, we
have attempted to retain the strengths of the previous editions while
addressing issues raised by students and reviewers. These include reinsert-
ing a chapter on pain and including a separate chapter on emotions, where
we have relocated loss. In so doing, we have retained the emphasis on
normal psychology. We have added some exercises to assist the learning
process.
The sequence of chapters has been changed to allow us to build on previ-
ous material when presenting complex issues like stress, health and pain.
But since each chapter stands alone, readers are free to select chapters or
topics in any order and follow suggested links as appropriate. We have
included many references to classic works and all have been carefully
chosen to illustrate a point. Readers will observe that some topics are more
fully referenced than others. This is primarily an introductory text and for
ease of reading we have not referenced much of the basic psychological
theory and research that can to be found in other introductory psychology
textbooks. It is inappropriate to offer a critical review of all aspects of
psychology, but we have done so when introducing contentious aspects,
and when applying it to more complex issues in health and social care, as in
Chapters 8, 9 and 10.
Throughout the text, you will find the following symbols:
(cid:1)
refers to original research
(cid:2)
refers to applications of psychological principles to characters who are
drawn mainly from the scenario presented in Chapter 1
(cid:127) A suggested exercise to support each chapter is given after Chapter 10.
(cid:127) The glossary includes most terms that are unlikely to be familiar to a basic
learner or non-psychologist.
(cid:127) Words given in bold in the text are explained in the glossary.
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x Psychology for nurses and the caring professions
How you might choose to use this book
Students studying at different academic levels might find the following
guide helpful:
First level (UK HE levels 0 and 1)
(cid:127) Select a relevant chapter.
(cid:127) Read the questions at the beginning of the chapter.
(cid:127) Read through the chapter in its entirety, or read at least a whole section,
so you don’t take statements out of context.
(cid:127) Follow up links to other chapters and further reading.
(cid:127) Go back and see if you can answer the questions at the beginning of the
chapter. What have you learned that will help you to function more
effectively in practice?
Diploma level (UK HE level 2): analysis
(cid:127) Select a specific issue, topic or question.
(cid:127) Use chapter headings and index to locate relevant material.
(cid:127) Read relevant sections, making a note of key references.
(cid:127) Follow up further reading and referenced articles. Seek help from tutors if
these are not available or are difficult to understand.
Degree (UK HE level 3): critical analysis
(cid:127) Focus on a specific aspect of practice.
(cid:127) Use the index to identify relevant issues, refresh your memory, identify
possible lines of argument, identify key words and seek out relevant
references.
(cid:127) Follow up relevant references and use these as ideas to help develop and
conduct your own literature search to find more recent sources of
evidence.
Postgraduate level

(cid:127) If you have not previously studied psychology, use this text to gain an
overview of what psychology has to offer in practice.
(cid:127) If you have some knowledge of psychology, use this text to refresh your
memory and gain ideas to assist with your own literature search.
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