Joseph Matarazzo

Joseph Dominic Matarazzo was an Italian-born American psychologist credited with founding and naming the field of health psychology. From 1957 to 1996 he served as founding chairman of the first autonomous medical psychology department in the United States, at what became Oregon Health Sciences University. In 1978 he became the first president of the American Psychological Association's newly formed Division of Health Psychology, and in 1989 he served as president of the American Psychological Association itself. His work helped establish the study of how psychological, behavioral and social factors influence physical health and medical care as a distinct academic discipline.