|
|
Article: Psychology, Health
- Article from:
- Encyclopedia of Public Health
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
PSYCHOLOGY, HEALTH
Psychology has various definitions, most of them stating that psychology is the study of behavior. Health psychology is the application of psychology to health-related problems and behavior. Most psychological applications in health are from the discipline of social psychology. The contribution of health psychology to public health is in such areas as psychological processes in prevention, health maintenance (e.g., not smoking), and patient education, particularly in helping people cope with an illness (e.g., mastering the use of the peak flow meter to control asthma).
HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY PERSPECTIVES
Health psychology deals with individual behavior in a social context. ...