Health Psychology

Description

• Extensive discussion of fascinating new research—e.g., on personality and disease, the self-healing personality, and comprehensive approaches to health promotion.

  • Provides students with examples of the latest developments in the field. Ex.___

• The biopsychosocial health psychology approach—Focuses on the application of psychological theories, concepts, and methods to health. Rather than focusing on individual medical conditions and diseases, per se, looks at the broader psychological aspects of health (with chapters such as “Adaptation to Chronic Illness” and “Quality of Life and the Self-Healing Personality”) and integrates specific medical issues (e.g., cancer) as appropriate (e.g., coping with chronic illness, personality and health, psychophysiology, stigma).

  • Provides a conceptual integration to help students form a basis for understanding health and illness. Ex.___

• A focus on “thinking about health” rather than a “how-to” profession—Views health psychology as a socio-behavioral science rather than a branch of medicine—as set of intellectually-sophisticated ways of thinking about health.

  • Shows students that to be a successful health psychologist, one has to be able to think in social science terms, with understanding of probabilities and uncertainties, influences of culture, interactions of the individual and the social group, and inherent individual differences. Ex.___

• A comparative approach—Explicitly contrasts and compares the biopsychosocial health psychology model to the traditional biomedical model (“disease” model).

  • Shows the under-appreciated benefits of health promotion and provides a scientific approach to alternative medicine. Ex.___

• Many examples, illustrations, and applications to society—With explanations of the historical roots of many key concepts.

  • Captures and maintains students’ interest throughout. Ex.___

• An emphasis on critical thinking.

  • Helps students learn a specific content while they are learning how to evaluate theory and research. Students are best able to promote their own health and the health of others when they understand the nature of health and the nature of research. Ex.___

• Chapter-opening anecdotes.

  • Illustrates and introduces the deeper issues to follow. Ex.___

• An extensive reference list.

  • Provides a convenient source for more in-depth study. Ex.___

I. INTRODUCTION TO BASIC CONCEPTS AND METHODS.

II. PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTRIBUTORS TO AND TREATMENTS OF ILLNESS.

III. HEALTH PROMOTION, DISEASE PREVENTION, AND THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM.

IV. SOCIETY, UTILIZATION, AND THE FUTURE.

Howard S. Friedman is Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Riverside. He is an elected Fellow of the Division of Health Psychology of the American Psychological Association, from whom he was awarded the career honor for Outstanding Contributions to Health Psychology. He is also an elected Fellow of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, the AAAS, the Society of Personality and Social Psychology, and the American Psychological Society. An honors graduate of Yale University, Friedman received his Ph.D. from Harvard University.

In 1995, Professor Friedman was awarded UCR’s Distinguished Teaching Award, and in 2000, he received the Outstanding Teacher Award from the Western Psychological Association (WPA). Best known for his research on personality and health, Friedman has also published work on education and training in health psychology, life-span health and longevity (using the seven-decade archival Terman data), doctor-patient communication (especially nonverbal communication), social support, and health promotion interventions. His research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the American Cancer Society, and the American Heart Association.

Some other books authored or edited by Howard Friedman are:

– The Self-Healing Personality (Henry Holt, 1991; republished 2000 at www.iuniverse.com) (also reprinted in French and German).
– Personality: Classic Theories and Modern Research (Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 1999, 2003).
– Readings in Personality: Classic Theories and Modern Research (Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 2001).
– The Encyclopedia of Mental Health (editor-in-chief) (San Diego: Academic Press, 1998) (3 volumes).
– Hostility, Coping, and Health (American Psychological Association, 1992).
– Personality and Disease (New York: John Wiley, 1990) (also available in Japanese edition, 1997).
– Interpersonal Issues in Health Care (San Diego: Academic Press, 1982).

Now in. its second edition, this book’s biopsychosocial health psychology approach is contrasted and compared to traditional biomedical views of health and disease. Rather than simply offering research findings, concepts are integrated throughout the text, allowing students to learn specific content while they evaluate research and theory.

For courses in Health Psychology and Health.

This classic exploration of health psychology explains the timeless wisdom uncovered by psychology and other social sciences about the meaning of health, illness, and optimal health care. Written in an engaging, accessible style, it provides a conceptual integration of the most important relevant research of the whole 20th century, as well as discussing the most important recent findings—but without becoming a complicated research compendium. Throughout, the biopsychosocial health psychology model is explicitly contrasted and compared to the traditional biomedical model.