Changing the subject of health psychology

Abstract

Examination of theories in health psychology over the twentieth century reveals parallel shifts in models describing the subject of psychology and a consistent realignment between this subject and the environment. A similar reconfiguration of the individual can also be seen within medical and health care discourses about risks to health. These changes are discussed in terms of the interrelationship between theory (the discipline of health psychology), the theory's subject (the individual) and methodology.