Rory Coughlan
Associate Professor

Research interests:

My approach to social and health psychology is multi-disciplinary. As such I support social scientific attempts to

preserve the inter-relationship of individual subjectivity with social processes and culture. In this endeavour I

prefer to use investigative methodology that is capable of assessing individual experiences as inter-penetrated

by interaction, ideology and contextualized by societal institutions. Typically this requires the utilization of

qualitative research methods including interviews, observation, institutional ethnography, grounded theory,

thematic analysis among others. I have three areas of interest. My main area of specialty is the investigation

of health experiences of individuals, the interactional processes that mediate such individual patient or clinician

perceptions within certain sub-cultures of health delivery systems and the development of health policy. In

addition I am interested in understanding how individuals perceive “personal agency” and the social and

cultural factors that contribute to negotiations in everyday situations. I am also interested in how power

relations develop in social settings with a special interest in issues of bullying in institutional settings.

Teaching
PSYC 2700H-A FA PTBO:                Introduction to Social Psychology

PSYC-SOCI 4120H-A FA PTBO:       Qualitative Research and Analysis

PSYC 2700H-A WI PTBO:               Introduction to Social Psychology

PSYC 4130H-A WI PTBO:               Critical Psychology

Selected publications

Coughlan, R. & Ward, L (2007) Experiences of Recently Relocated Residents of a Long-Term Care Facility in Ontario:

   Assessing Quality Qualitatively. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 7,43, 1011-1029.  

Coughlan, R. (2006) The Socio-politics of Technology & Innovation: Problematizing the “Caring” in Healthcare?  

   Social Theory & Health, 4, 4, 334-352.  Coughlan, R. (2006). The Social Psychology of Health Care: Consumerism, Technology

   & Public Good. McMaster University Medical Journal, 3, 1, 52-56.

Coughlan, R. & Jung, K. E. (2006) New Mothers’ Experiences of Agency During  Prenatal and Delivery Care: Clinical Practice,

   Communication & Embodiment. Journal of Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology & Health.    20, 2, 1-25 

Coughlan, R. (2004). The peculiar category of placebo: The socio-psychological affects of personal agency. British Medical Journal, 329, 947

   http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/eletters/329/7472/944#80842

Coughlan, R. (2004). Stigma, shame & blame experienced by patients with lung cancer: Health promotion and support groups have a role.

   British Medical Journal, 329,402-3

Coughlan, R (2004). Psychosocial health & training programmes: The importance of experiences of personal agency. British Medical Journal

   Online. http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/eletters/328/7448/1099.

Coughlan, R. (2004). Some possible downsides to over-reliance on pedagogical technology. British Medical Journal Online. 

   http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/eletters/329/7466/606 Stephenson, P.H., Wolfe, N.K.,

Coughlan, R. & Koehn, S. (1999) A methodological discourse on gender, independence and frailty: Applied dimensions of

   identity construction in old age. Aging and Society , 13, 4, 1-11

Mullett, J., & Coughlan, R. (1998) Clinicians’ and seniors’ views of Reference Based Pricing: Two sides of a coin. Journal of

   Applied Gerontology, 17, 3

Tolman, C. W., Coughlan, R., & Robinson, C. N. B. (1996). The postmodernist appropriation of Vygotsky. In J. Lompscher (Ed.),

   Lernen und Entwicklung aus kulturhistorischer Sicht: Was sagt uns Wygotski heute?  [Learning and   Development From the

   Cultural-Historical Point of View] (Bd. 1, S. 117-129). Marburg: BdWi-Verlag.  

Brunt, J. H., Hopkinson, J., Chappell, N., Maclure, M., Mullett, J., McCormack, J., Rango, R., Thompson, M.& Coughlan, R. (1996)

   Seniors Drug Focus Project: Report of Findings from Cycle One.  School of Nursing/Centre on Aging, University of Victoria, B. C. Canada