Main description:

Health Psychology is essential reading for all students and researchers of health psychology. Organized
into four sections, the 6th edition is structured with a clear emphasis on theory and evidence throughout.
This textbook maintains its popular and balanced approach between the biomedical and psychosocial model,
while strengthening its focus on critical thinking and behaviour change.

Key updates include:
* Learning objectives: Each chapter opens with a set of learning objectives, which clearly outlines
the knowledge, understanding and skills you will acquire from each chapter.
* Case studies: Each chapter includes a case study to illustrate how the key theories and ideas are
relevant to everyday life.
* Through the Eyes of Health Psychology: A brand new feature to show how a health psychologist
might analyse each case study using the theories and concepts presented throughout the book.
* Health promotion: A whole chapter devoted to the theories and evidence relevant to behaviour
change and includes a new section on integrated approaches and the drive to develop a new
science of behaviour change.
* Thinking critically about: The process of thinking critically is introduced in the first chapter which
describes how to think critically about theory, methods, measurement and research design. Each
chapter has its own 'Thinking critically about ...' section at the end to highlight problems with
specific theories and research areas. This section includes critical thinking questions and a 'Some
problems with...' section to form the basis of class discussions and enable students to be more
critical in their thinking and writing.

Contents:

1.Introduction to health psychology: Theories and Methods
2.Health beliefs
3.Addictive behaviours: Smoking and alcohol and other addictions
4.Eating behaviour
5.Exercise
6.Sex
7.Health promotion: changing health behaviours
8.Illness cognitions
9.Accessing health care
10.Stress and Illness
11.Pain and the placebo effect
12.HIV and cancer: psychology throughout the course of illness
13.Obesity and coronary heart disease: psychology throughout the course of illness
14.Health Status and Quality of Life
15.Gender and Health Issues