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Behaviour and Society

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Behaviour and Society Assignment 1 – Case Study - Chrissy

Psychological constructs have been defined by Cronbach and Meehl, (1955) as anything related functionally to experiences behaviours and attitudes. Furthermore constructs are not what can be measured or seen but a manifestation of what has been agreed upon to name and identify those functions in one’s own mind. In the case study of Chrissy, a 25-year-old lawyer, various negative constructs are highlighted. These include risk behaviour as Chrissy has been a moderate smoker for the last 10 years, Chrissy’s associated risk perception, decreased motivation to exercise choosing to carpool than ride her bike and her low level of compliance to her asthma treatment plan.

Risk behaviour is defined as an action that is associated with a loss, leading to negative outcomes (Van der Pligt, 1996, p. 34). Such factors as gender, age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status and personality can influence behaviour. Also a persons beliefs and attitudes can guide them to certain behavioural types. (Morrison & Bennett, 2009, p. 123). Usually people perceive their susceptibility risk of their behaviour on a comparison of their own risk to others, this usually equates to that perception of risk as being quite low (Vollrath et al, 1999). As with smokers, such as Chrissy, who states she is a moderate smoker, there will always be someone else who smokes more cigarettes and consequently shows no signs of illness, therefore there is a perception that an illness will not eventuate for her. Smoking for Chrissy can also be impacted by her outcome expectancy of why she persists in the activity. Most smokers believe they get a positive outcome when they smoke, as in Chrissy’s case this could be a relaxation technique or a way to fit in with her peers (Zvolensky et al, 2004).

Personality traits are regarded as an influence on a

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