Browsing by Author "Gibson A"

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    Making sense of bodily experiences: Interpreting signs and symptoms
    (Massey University, 2025-07-16) Morison T; Gibson A; Riley S
    This chapter is about how people make sense of the changes experienced in their bodies as an indication of illness. How do we know when a physical sensation is serious or just a fleeting discomfort? Deciding whether to seek medical care or ignore a symptom is a daily reality, but the process of interpreting bodily signals is far more complex than it might seem. By the end of this chapter, you will be able to understand symptom interpretation as more than a straightforward process. Instead, you will see it as a complex, socially negotiated act with significant implications for individual health, healthcare practices, and broader public health outcomes.
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    Perspectives on health and illness
    (Massey University, 2025-07-16) Morison T; Gibson A; Riley S; McGuigan K
    Taking a critical perspective, as we do in this book, involves going beyond the surface appearance of an idea or phenomenon to determine why it is the way it is (Baum, 2015). For (critically oriented) health psychology, this means scrutinising health-related issues through a lens that questions underlying assumptions, power dynamics, and social structures. It also means questioning our very understanding of the notion of health, which we frequently take for granted, and which is the focus of this chapter. The questions that may spring to mind are: What is the point of recognising and unpacking different, changing understandings of health and illness? And, Why is taking this critical perspective necessary or valuable? This chapter tackles these questions.