Skip to content

Quiz: Influences on Health Behavior

Test your understanding of the socio-ecological model, evaluating health resources and information, and communication skills with these review questions.

1. What does the socio-ecological model claim about explaining a health behavior?

  1. Only the individual level actually determines behavior; the other levels are background noise
  2. A full analysis has to check all five nested levels — individual, interpersonal, community, societal/environmental, and policy — rather than assuming one level "causes" the behavior more than the others
  3. Policy is always the single most important level and should be checked first and only
  4. Each level operates completely independently with no effect on the others
Show Answer

The correct answer is B. The chapter explains that the socio-ecological model sorts influences into five nested levels that each shape the ones inside them, and that a full analysis requires checking all five before concluding why a behavior is common, rare, easy, or hard — no single level is treated as the whole explanation.

Concept Tested: Public Health Policy Influence On Health Practices

2. How does the chapter distinguish "validity" from "reliability" when evaluating health information?

  1. Validity and reliability mean exactly the same thing and can be used interchangeably
  2. Reliability asks whether information is true, while validity asks whether a source cites its funding
  3. Validity only applies to peer-reviewed studies, while reliability only applies to social media posts
  4. Validity asks whether information is actually true and evidence-based, while reliability asks whether the source is trustworthy across time, including disclosing funding and getting reviewed by experts
Show Answer

The correct answer is D. The chapter separates these as two distinct criteria: validity concerns whether information is actually true and evidence-based, while reliability concerns whether the source itself is trustworthy over time, including disclosing conflicts of interest, citing evidence, and undergoing expert review.

Concept Tested: Validity And Reliability Of Health Information

3. Why does correcting a "perceived norm" (such as students overestimating how many peers vape) measurably reduce the target behavior?

  1. Because much youth behavior is driven by a desire to match a perceived norm rather than an actual preference for the behavior itself, so closing the gap between perceived and actual rates reduces the behavior
  2. Because survey data has no real connection to individual behavior
  3. Because students always ignore data about their peers' actual behavior
  4. Because injunctive norms and descriptive norms are identical concepts with no distinction
Show Answer

The correct answer is A. The chapter explains that teenagers routinely overestimate how many peers vape, drink, or are sexually active, and that correcting this misperception, a strategy called social norms marketing, measurably reduces the target behavior because much youth behavior is driven by a desire to match a perceived norm rather than genuine preference.

Concept Tested: Social Norms And Health Practices

4. A city council votes to limit the number of vape shops allowed within one mile of a high school. Which socio-ecological level does this action belong to?

  1. Individual, since it reflects a single person's belief
  2. Interpersonal, since it involves friends influencing each other
  3. Policy, since it involves a government body voting on a regulation, which will subsequently change the societal/environmental and community levels
  4. Community, since it only affects one school building
Show Answer

The correct answer is C. The chapter's own quick-check example identifies a city council vote to limit vape shop density as a policy-level action, since it involves a government body voting on a regulation. This policy change is expected to subsequently shape the societal/environmental level (retail density) and, over time, the community and interpersonal levels too.

Concept Tested: Public Health Policy Influence On Health Practices

5. A rural mental health service is offered only through telehealth, but a family lacks reliable broadband internet at home. Which accessibility dimension from the chapter does this scenario primarily fail?

  1. Confidentiality
  2. Digital access, since using the service requires reliable internet or a smartphone the family doesn't have
  3. Language/cultural fit
  4. Cost, since telehealth is always more expensive than in-person care
Show Answer

The correct answer is B. The chapter's accessibility table names digital access as a distinct dimension, with the specific example of telehealth requiring broadband a family doesn't have. A resource can be valid and even affordable while still failing on this dimension, which is why accessibility is evaluated across several independent dimensions rather than a single yes-or-no question.

Concept Tested: Accessibility Of Health Resources

6. Comparing two refusal responses to social pressure — "Um, maybe, I guess so" versus "No, I'm not doing that — I'm heading to Jae's, come with me if you want" — which reflects stronger refusal skill, and why?

  1. The vague response, because it is more polite and less likely to cause conflict
  2. Neither response reflects any meaningful difference in strength
  3. The vague response, because leaving room for interpretation is always preferable
  4. The direct response, because it combines directness with a concrete alternative or exit plan, both features the chapter identifies as strengthening a refusal
Show Answer

The correct answer is D. The chapter identifies directness and pairing a "no" with a concrete alternative or exit plan as features of a strong refusal. The vague response ("maybe, I guess so") is ambiguous and can be misread as room to keep pressuring, while the direct response with an exit plan is far less likely to be reinterpreted.

Concept Tested: Refusal Skills Evaluation

7. A person says "I'm fine" while avoiding eye contact and crossing their arms. According to the chapter, how do listeners generally respond to this kind of conflicting signal?

  1. Listeners generally trust the nonverbal signal more, because it is harder to consciously control
  2. Listeners always ignore nonverbal signals entirely and take the words at face value
  3. Listeners cannot form any judgment when verbal and nonverbal signals conflict
  4. Listeners trust the verbal signal more in every case, regardless of body language
Show Answer

The correct answer is A. The chapter explains that when verbal and nonverbal channels conflict, such as saying "I'm fine" while avoiding eye contact and crossing arms, listeners generally trust the nonverbal signal more, because nonverbal cues are harder to consciously control than word choice.

Concept Tested: Verbal And Nonverbal Communication Analysis

8. How does the chapter distinguish negotiation from conflict resolution?

  1. Negotiation and conflict resolution are the exact same process under two different names
  2. Conflict resolution only applies to romantic relationships, while negotiation applies to all others
  3. Conflict resolution repairs a relationship after disagreement has already surfaced, while negotiation proactively works out terms both people can accept before or during a decision
  4. Negotiation always involves an ultimatum, while conflict resolution never does
Show Answer

The correct answer is C. The chapter distinguishes the two by timing and purpose: conflict resolution repairs a relationship after a disagreement has already surfaced, while negotiation proactively works out terms both people can accept before or during a decision, such as what time to be home or how to divide group project responsibilities.

Concept Tested: Negotiation Skills

9. In a scenario involving a coach and an athlete negotiating a boundary, why does the chapter say a power difference matters when evaluating the communication?

  1. A power difference, such as age, social status, or authority, can make it harder for one person to say no or to be heard, which is a key evaluation question for boundary and consent communication
  2. Power differences are irrelevant once both people have stated their positions clearly
  3. Power differences only matter in workplace settings, never in coaching relationships
  4. Power differences automatically invalidate any agreement reached, regardless of context
Show Answer

The correct answer is A. The chapter lists whether a power difference made it harder for one person to say no or to be heard as one of the key evaluation questions for boundary and consent communication in complex, realistic situations, directly connecting this chapter's evaluation skill to power-dynamics concepts introduced earlier in the course.

Concept Tested: Evaluating Boundary And Consent Communication

10. A health claim online sounds very confident but never cites where its numbers come from, never acknowledges any uncertainty, and has never been reviewed by anyone outside the organization that made it. What should this pattern signal to an evaluator?

  1. The claim should be trusted because confident language signals expertise
  2. Confidence and credibility are the same thing, so no further evaluation is needed
  3. These are reliability red flags, since a source that sounds certain is not automatically a source that has done the work
  4. Only the tone of a claim matters, not whether its source cites evidence
Show Answer

The correct answer is C. The chapter warns directly against confusing confidence with credibility: sources that never cite where their numbers come from, never acknowledge uncertainty, and never get reviewed by anyone outside their own organization are reliability red flags, regardless of how confident the tone sounds.

Concept Tested: Validity And Reliability Of Health Information