The Social Cognition Approach to Health

Despite their origins in the same era of psychological history, social cognition and health sub-disciplines of psychology are rarely in empirical conversation. We argue that joining these approaches will illuminate their symbiotic promise. To highlight this promise, we outline the historical roots of both sub-disciplines, describe the benefits that social cognition and health psychology can offer to one another, and introduce the current special issue, which is dedicated to research at the intersection of social cognition and health. This special issue provides seven outstanding examples of the social cognition approach to health. Our hope is that these studies will highlight the utility of a social cognition approach to health psychology and encourage researchers from both backgrounds to examine the mutual possibilities.