Introduction to health psychology

Health Health psychology is the study of the relationship between behaviour and health including our intentions and norms. However, in order to understand health psychology, we must first understand health. This is not as straightforward as it may at first seem. Health is a dynamic concept- if we look back over time we can see clear, marked changes in the way that health has been understood. Historical perspectives on health and illness Concepts of health have fluctuated greatly over time. For example, there is evidence that during the Stone Age (10 000-2000 BC), 'evil spirits' were seen as a cause of ill health. Across time, we have seen religious explanations for health, resulting from favour or punishment from God, predominating through Ancient Hebrew (100-300 BC) and early Christian (600 AD) belief systems (Magner, 1992).