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Psychophysiology: Theory and Methods

Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine

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Synonyms

Psychophysiological

Definition

How does mental and emotional life tie in with the workings of the body? Psychophysiology is the branch of psychology that studies the behavior of the individual in a biological context. It is an attempt to chart the mutual interactions between psychological processes and the workings of the body, giving equal emphasis to both.

Description

A fundamental principle of psychophysiology is that thoughts and feelings cannot exist apart from the body. It follows that a full understanding of psychological processes depends on understanding the biological context from which they proceed. Due to its emphasis on integrating our understanding of mental and physiological processes, psychophysiology has contributed to research methods and theory building in behavioral medicine and to the neurosciences of cognition and emotion. Psychophysiology does this by providing a theoretical basis and a set of measurement methods that help to disentangle relationships...

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References and Further Readings

  • Gerin, W. (2010). Laboratory stress testing methodology. In A. Steptoe (Ed.), Handbook of behavioral medicine: Methods and applications (pp. 633–648). New York: Springer.

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  • Lovallo, W. R. (2016). Stress and Health (3rd ed.): Sage.

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  • Obrist, P. A. (1981). Cardiovascular psychophysiology: A perspective. New York: Plenum Press.

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  • Steptoe, A., & Poole, L. (2010). Use of biological measures in behavioral medicine. In A. Steptoe (Ed.), Handbook of behavioral medicine: Methods and applications (pp. 619–632). New York: Springer.

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  • Turner, J. R. (1984). Cardiovascular reactivity and stress: Patterns of physiological response. New York: Plenum Press.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 921 NE 13th St, Oklahoma City, OK, 73104, USA

    William R. Lovallo

Authors
  1. William R. Lovallo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to William R. Lovallo .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, USA

    Marc Gellman

  2. Campbell University School of Pharmacy, Buies Creek, North Carolina, USA

    J. Rick Turner

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© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Lovallo, W.R. (2016). Psychophysiology: Theory and Methods. In: Gellman, M., Turner, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_484-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_484-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6439-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference MedicineReference Module Medicine

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Psychophysiology: Theory and Methods
    Published:
    31 December 2019

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_484-3

  2. Original

    Psychophysiology: Theory and Methods
    Published:
    23 September 2016

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_484-2

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