| The idea that social factors play a role in physical health and well-being is not a new one. The basis of this idea has been around for hundreds of years. Hippocrates, the father of medicine, observed that the social relationship between patient and physician was important for recovery. The ancient Greeks also believed that the balance between the four humors (i.e., air, water, fire, and phlegm) was linked to the development of particular diseases. This balance could be disturbed by many factors, including the social environment. However, an empirically based approach that focused on the role of social psychological processes for etiology, prevention, treatment and adaptation to physical illness was only pioneered in the 1950s and did not gather full-steam until the 1970s. Why did it take so long for a social psychology of health and illness to develop? At least two things needed to be in place: a conceptual framework within medicine that acknowledged the role of psychosocial influences, and a social approach within scientific psychology consisting of persuasive theories, strong methodologies and a body of empirical evidence. Both conditions did not begin to emerge until the middle of the twentieth century. |