PSYCHOLOGY AND HEALTH: CONTRIBUTIONS OF PSYCHOLOGY TO THE IMPROVEMENT OF HEALTH AND HEALTH CARE

Psychology as both a science and a profession has been closely identified with other disciplines in the broad field of health since the turn of the century. Recent advances in health care have reinforced the growing belief that the promotion of health and the prevention and treatment of illness can be greatly enhanced by incorporating the scientific findings and modern technology of psychology into everyday practices. Outlining the contributions of psychology to health care throughout the world is the primary purpose of this report. In this brief survey, only some of the most timely and relevant issues can be mentioned, together with examples of current work in the field. The reader interested in pursuing these psychological contributions more thoroughly is encouraged to review pertinent references from the citations at the end of this report. After an introductory overview, special attention is given to each of the major areas within the broad field of health care where psychological applications have been particularly useful.     

Book reviews

Current Psychology -     

The effect of microlevel and macrolevel signaling on learning with 360° videos

The application of 360° videos raised the attention of educators and researchers, as it appears to be an approachable option to mediate complete environments in educational settings. However, challenges emerge from the perspective of educational psychology. Learning irrelevant cognitive strains might be imposed because it is necessary to navigate through spherical material. However, these potential downsides could be compensated for using signaling techniques. In a two (macrolevel vs. no macrolevel signaling) × two (microlevel vs. no microlevel signaling) factorial between-subjects design plus control group, 215 fifth-and sixth-grade students will watch a 360° video about visual and behavioral characteristics of animals. Learning outcomes, cognitive load, disorientation, and presence will be investigated. It is expected that macrolevel signaling will enhance learning and presence and reduce cognitive load and disorientation. Microlevel signaling will have comparable advantages, but these effects will be more pronounced when macrolevel signaling is implemented.     

Ingroup Versus Outgroup Perceptions of the Characteristics of High-Risk Youth: Negative Stereotyping1

Adolescents tend to categorize themselves and their peers into discrete ingroups and outgroups. A comparison of ingroup versus outgroup perceptions of the characteristics of high-risk youth was investigated. Based on current stereotype research, we examined the perspective that outgroup members would hold a more extreme stereotype of high-risk youth compared to the perceptions of ingroup members. A total of 955 7th- and 10th-grade southern California adolescents completed a questionnaire regarding the characteristics of their own peer group and a high-risk group. Support was obtained for an extremity of judgement effect. Outgroup youth perceived that their high-risk peers engaged in fewer school and nonschool low-risk activities, more high-risk activities, and greater drug use than did ingroup members. Outgroup members also held perceptions of high-risk youth as less likely to hold a white-collar job than did the ingroup members. The perceptions that adolescents have of these groups may play major roles in their own social behavior. The implications of these results for future tobacco use prevention programs are considered.     

A call for a pluralist epistemological understanding in the assessment and evaluation of counselling

The authors outline and posit the futility of the 'paradigm war' between reductionistic/positivistic and phenomenological/naturalistic philosophies within counselling evaluation, pointing out that the notion of such competition is itself based on positivist thinking. They trace attempts at creating a 'truce' in the war based on strict demarcation of territory. They conclude that in the longer term more might be gained by accepting the veracity of both philosophies and creating a pluralist model which will be more fully equipped to evaluate the human process of counselling.     

Driving assessment with computer-video scenarios: More is sometimes better

Several factors are critical in designing effective simulator systems for driving research and driver assessment. First, there is cost, in terms of which, less is better. Costly systems are sometimes fine for specific research purposes, but they are impractical for most other purposes. Second, there is realism; in this case, more may be better, but we don’t know how much realism is really necessary for good prediction of actual driving behaviors. Recent evidence suggests that real-world clutter may enhance prediction, but it also makes interpreting research more difficult. More realism may increase cost, but this is not necessarily the case. Third, there is user-friendliness, in terms of which, again, more is better. Systems that are easier to operate require less-highly trained personnel; hence, increasing user-friendliness also decreases cost, especially for assessment. We demonstrated a highly user-friendly, low-cost, moderately realistic, and partly interactive computer-video driving research and assessment system. In recent research, we obtained multipleR values ofA7 for older drivers with only three to four scenarios predicting a real-world crash index.     

Sensitizing Medical Residents to Fantasies and Alignments in the Family: Mastering Psychosocial Skills in the Medical Encounter

In this paper, it is proposed that a) psychosocial medicine is best taught in a setting that provides technical and emotional support, while seizing for teaching only those moments when the learner is most receptive; and b) that the setting should avoid the development of a separate psychosocial skills curriculum, but should take the student where he or she is and integrate the psychosocial skills into his or her everyday biomedical practice. The paper gives specific case examples in which family based psychosocial issues were preeminent in the clinical problem-solving medical residents faced.     

PET Studies of Phonological Processing: A Critical Reply to Poeppel

Poeppel (1996) raises a number of criticisms about the methods and reported results for eight studies of phonological processing from six different neuroimaging laboratories. We would freely admit that valid criticisms of PET methodology can be made and that, like any method, it has limitations; in fact, we and others have engaged in such critical commentary (Steinmetz & Seitz, 1991; Sergent et al., 1992; Démonet, 1995; Fiez et al., 1996a; Zatorre et al., 1996). Poeppel's analysis, though, falls far short of providing new insights into the limitations of PET methodology or the means by which future functional imaging studies could be improved. Many of Poeppel's criticisms derive from a failure to understand some of the fundamental issues which motivate functional imaging studies, including those he reviews. However, we are grateful to our critic inasmuch as he offers us the challenge to clarify our positions on important aspects of our experimental design, analysis, and interpretation. In our discussion of these issues, we begin with a general commentary, followed by specific comments from individual authors.