Introduction to Psychology
Fields

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Health psychology

Health psychology studies the psychological processes underlying health, illness and health care, and applies that work to prevention and to outcomes for people who are ill.

Interdisciplinary fieldHealth and care

Type of entry
Interdisciplinary fieldAn area that draws on psychology together with other disciplines. Types are editorial labels, not an official classification.
Cluster
Health and careAssessment, care, health and the specialties built around them.
Sources opened
5 of 50 read as a full page, 5 as selected text or an abstract, 0 not verified.
Independent review
Admitted after correctionsClaude Code reviewer agent, separate from the writer, 2026-10-21. 11 claims checked against 5 sources opened by the reviewer.

What it studies

Health psychology studies psychological processes underlying health, illness and health care. The British Psychological Society describes work on emotional aspects of illness and healthier lifestyles. Behavior-change research adds questions about what people can do, what their surroundings permit, and what motivates them, including the behavior of health professionals.

History and people

William Schofield published a 1969 paper on the role of psychology in the delivery of health services. In 1973 the American Psychological Association created a task force on health research, and in 1978 Stephen Weiss and Joseph Matarazzo started a petition that preceded the founding of Division 38 that year. The division's journal, Health Psychology, launched in 1982, and a board for health psychology was established in 1984.

People and documented roles

  • William Schofield. Author of a 1969 paper on psychology in the delivery of health services
    • Published The role of psychology in the delivery of health services in American Psychologist. [1]
  • Stephen Weiss. Co-starter of the 1978 petition for a health psychology division
    • Started, with Joseph Matarazzo, a petition to create a health psychology division. [1]
  • Joseph Matarazzo. Co-starter of the 1978 petition for a health psychology division
    • Started, with Stephen Weiss, a petition to create a health psychology division. [1]

The historical contributor list draws on one US institutional history and is partial. Authors of the added methods studies are not listed here as founders or early contributors.

Dated milestones

  • 1969Publication. Year.Schofield's paper on psychology in the delivery of health services appears in American Psychologist. [1]
  • 1973Event. Year.The American Psychological Association creates a Task Force on Health Research. [1]
  • 1978Society or organization formed. Year.Division 38 is founded after a petition; this is a US society milestone, not the start of the field. [1]
  • 1982Publication. Year.The journal Health Psychology launches. [1]
  • 1984Institution built. Year.The American Board of Health Psychology is established, a US board certification body and not a license. [1]

Methods

One documented approach is the Behaviour Change Wheel: researchers analyze a target behavior through capability, opportunity and motivation (COM-B), then connect that analysis to intervention functions. In a 2023 smoking-medication study, researchers combined reviews and primary studies with a two-round modified Delphi survey, asking experts to judge proposed strategies against explicit practical and ethical criteria.

Training and applications

The 2023 study developed support strategies for people using smoking-cessation medications and the professionals supporting them. Selected strategies included detailed medication-use instructions, realistic expectations about medication, and training providers in adherence support. This illustrates intervention development for a specific health behavior, not proof that the proposed package improves adherence. In the United Kingdom, Health psychologist is a protected title regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council.

Boundaries and limits

The society history records US institution building, not the beginning of all research on health and behavior. The added examples concern one behavior-change framework and an Australian expert-consensus study. They do not exhaust health psychology's methods or establish global practice patterns. Expert agreement is not an effectiveness trial; the 2023 authors call for outcome evaluation. Professional recognition remains jurisdiction-specific.

Evidence behind the claims

  • William Schofield of the University of Minnesota published a 1969 paper in American Psychologist titled The role of psychology in the delivery of health services.

    History and peopleDocumented in the sourceSource: [1]Where: Timeline entry for 1969

  • In 1973, on the recommendation of the American Psychological Association's Committee on Newly Emerging Areas of Research, its Board of Scientific Affairs created a Task Force on Health Research.

    History and peopleDocumented in the sourceSource: [1]Where: Timeline entry for 1973

  • In 1978 Stephen Weiss and Joseph Matarazzo started a petition to create a health psychology division, which over 600 members and fellows of the American Psychological Association signed.

    History and peopleDocumented in the sourceSource: [1]Where: Timeline entry for 1978, petition

  • Division 38 of the American Psychological Association was founded in 1978, with bylaws adopted by 175 charter members, and the society says it was established that year.

    History and peopleThe organization's own descriptionSource: [1]Where: Opening paragraph and timeline entry for 1978

  • The division's journal Health Psychology launched in 1982, and in 1984 the society with the Council of Health Psychology Training Directors established the American Board of Health Psychology, later affiliated with the American Board of Professional Psychology.

    History and peopleDocumented in the sourceSource: [1]Where: Timeline entries for 1982 and 1984

  • The British Psychological Society's Division of Health Psychology states that the goal of health psychology is to study the psychological processes underlying health, illness and health care, and says health psychologists help people with emotional and psychological aspects of health and illness and promote healthier lifestyles.

    What it studiesThe organization's own descriptionSource: [2]Where: Definition statement on the division page

  • The Division of Health Psychology says it aims to promote public health, improve the healthcare system and health policy, prevent illness and disability, and improve outcomes for people who are ill or disabled.

    What it studiesThe organization's own descriptionSource: [2]Where: Division aims paragraph

  • In the United Kingdom, Health psychologist is a protected title, the Health and Care Professions Council is the statutory regulator for practitioner psychologists, and completing the Qualification in Health Psychology (Stage 2) makes a person eligible to apply for registration.

    Training and applicationsRecognition record, not an originSources: [2] [3]Where: s2 HCPC paragraph; s3 Protected titles heading

  • The Behaviour Change Wheel links analysis of capability, opportunity and motivation (COM-B) to intervention functions.

    MethodsDocumented in the sourceSource: [4]Where: Methods, COM-B definitions and intervention design paragraphs; Discussion, intervention functions and specific behavior-change techniques

  • Mersha and colleagues combined reviews and primary studies with a two-round modified Delphi survey to select smoking-medication adherence strategies.

    MethodsDocumented in the sourceSource: [5]Where: Methods opening; Stakeholder consultation using modified Delphi study; Procedures, Round one and Round two

  • The 2023 study selected medication-use instructions, realistic medication expectations and healthcare-provider training as adherence-support strategies requiring future effectiveness evaluation.

    Training and applicationsDocumented in the sourceSource: [5]Where: Results, Minimum intervention strategies; Abstract, Results and Conclusion

Where it appears

University examples

Professional contexts

Examples show documented structures. They are not a ranking, a census, or a statement about admission or licensing.

In the Psy101 course

This is course relevance only. It is not evidence for the historical or practice claims on this page.See the full course map.

Sources and inspection

5 of 5 sources were opened and read at the level shown. A source marked as not verified supports no claim on this page by itself.

  1. [1]
    Our HistorySociety for Health Psychology (APA Division 38), undated. Society history. Supports the history.Selected text readRead the milestone timeline; the 1994 book series and 1995 membership entries were not used.
  2. [2]
    Division of Health PsychologyBritish Psychological Society, undated. Professional association. Supports the definition of the area.Selected text readRead the division page covering its aims, definition of health psychology and HCPC references.
  3. [3]
    Practitioner PsychologistUK Government, Regulated Professions Database, undated. Regulator. Supports a recognition record.Selected text readRead the profession entry listing the regulator and protected titles.
  4. [4]
    The behaviour change wheel: A new method for characterising and designing behaviour change interventionsImplementation Science, 2011. Original publication. Supports the description of methods.Selected text readOpened article body, not only search abstract. Read Background on behavior measurement and smoking-cessation advice; Methods including COM-B definitions, systematic review and reliability testing; selected Results and Discussion on tobacco-control and obesity classification and need to test intervention-design effectiveness. Did not inspect linked tables, supplements or underlying studies.
  5. [5]
    Using the Behaviour Change Wheel and modified Delphi method to identify behavioural change techniques for improving adherence to smoking cessation medicationsBMC Public Health, 2023. Original publication. Supports the description of methods.Selected text readOpened main article body. Read Methods stages 1-3, stakeholder consultation, two-round Delphi procedures, recruitment, Results and minimum intervention strategies; abstract conclusion explicitly calls for future effectiveness research. Tables, supplements and cited underlying studies were not opened. This is intervention development and expert consensus, not an outcome trial.

Independent source review: Claude Code reviewer agent, separate from the writer, 2026-10-21. Verdict: Admitted after corrections. Of 11 claims checked, 11 were supported as written, 0 were reworded and 0 were removed.