Linda Brannon received her Ph.D. in human experimental psychology from the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Brannon is a professor in the department of Psychology at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana, where she has been teaching since receiving her doctorate. After becoming interested in the emerging field of health psychology, Brannon and co-author Jess Feist (late, of McNeese State University) co-authored the first edition of this text in the 1980s. They enjoyed expanding and developing the text along with the field for more than two decades. In addition to her work in health psychology, Dr. Brannon has authored a text on gender and is co-author of an introductory psychology text. John Updegraff is a professor of social and health psychology in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Kent State University. Dr. Updegraff received his Ph.D. in Social Psychology from UCLA, under the mentorship of pioneering health psychologist Shelley Taylor. Dr. Updegraff is an expert in health behavior, health communication, stress, and coping, and is the recipient of multiple research grants from the National Institutes of Health. He is an acclaimed undergraduate instructor and his research appears in the field's top journals.