Implicit processes in health psychology: Diversity and promise

Abstract

Implicit processes refer to cognitive, affective, and motivational processes that influence health decisions and behavior without the person intending that influence. This special issue aims to increase appreciation of the diverse and promising research on implicit processes in health psychology, and to promote discussion about how this research improves understanding of health behavior change and can be harnessed to meet public health mandates. The articles included in the special issue showcase this diversity and promise, and present not only new findings, but also new theories, new measures, and state-of-the- art summaries of progress. The research demonstrates the added value of considering implicit processes for understanding health behaviors, their interactions with explicit processes and neural mechanisms, as well as the benefits of targeting implicit processes in health behavior interventions. At the same time, however, the papers in this special issue also point to potential boundary conditions, the importance of good measures and appropriate tests of implicit processes, and the challenges involved in assessing implicit processes' causal role in determining health behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record