Discusses the growing areas of behavioral medicine and behavioral health. Traces the developments leading to the establishment of the American Psychological Association's Health Psychology Division and activities on the national level that have led to the development of organizations with a more interdisciplinary focus. (Author/MK)

Cognitive neuroscience is a scientific discipline that aims to determine how brain function gives rise to mental activity. Modern imaging techniques have contributed significantly to the emergence of this discipline. A conceptual framework is presented to help interpret data describing the relationships between cognitive phenomena and brain…

The author reviews some of the social and behavioral factors acting on the brain that influence health, illness, and death. Supported with data from several areas of research, his proposal for understanding health and illness provides both the concepts and the mechanisms for studying and explaining mind-body relationships. The brain is the body's…

Outlines a biopsychosocial model for perceived racism as a guide for future research, reviewing how racism has been conceptualized in scientific literature, examining research on the existence of intergroup and intragroup racism, presenting a contextual model for systematic studies of the biopsychosocial effects of perceived racism in African…

An exciting period in mental and physical health research is beginning, resulting from a paradigm shift from an outdated biomedical reductionism approach to a more comprehensive biopsychosocial model, which emphasizes the unique interactions among biological, psychological, and social factors required to better understand health and illness. This…

Study of the role of personality factors in health and disease suggests that motivational variables are related to and influence physiological systems. Affiliative trust and a greater sense of agency are associated with better health, while affiliative cynicism and a sense of helplessness are associated with more illness. (AF)

Biofeedback is defined and current instrumentation and applications are described in the context of the history, physiology, procedures, and major clinical uses. (Author)

Data from a survey of directors of APA-approved programs in clinical psychology reveal that a substantial number of programs offer formal training in clinical psychophysiology. Details are provided regarding types of training available; content areas covered; and, ratings indicating interest, utility and potential of biofeedback,…

Research with young Caucasian children found that, in response to unfamiliar situations, about 15 percent were consistently shy or inhibited, while another 15 percent were consistently sociable or uninhibited, and that these traits persisted through age eight. Both physiological and environmental factors were found to influence these temperamental…