Critical Approaches to Health Psychology

Abstract

Health psychology generally prioritizes scientific method as its means of enquiry, and positivism as its theoretical foundation. In the broader domain of social psychology, however, we are now seeing the emergence of a new paradigm, 'critical social psychology', which draws extensively upon postmodern theorizing, and, in particular, discursive methods of analysis and inquiry. In this article, I describe what is meant by critical social psychology, how it differs from the mainstream, and examine some of its implications for health psychology. My aim is to open up debate between mainstream and critical approaches. In adopting an explicit challenge to the way health psychology is currently conceived, it invites dialogue over the methods, theorization and practical applications of our discipline.