It's a function of time: A review of the process approach to behavioral medicine research

In many fields of science, phenomena are studied closely over time to make inferences about patterns of behavior and to allow for predictions of futur e change and stability In behavioral medicine, traditional cross-sectional and longitudinal designs are useful for capturing highly stable or slowly-c hanging phenomena, but important behavior change can be missed by one-occas ion measures or infrequent measurements taken at widely-spaced points in ti me. We review recent research showing how a more complete understanding of many forms of psychological and somatic phenomena can be achieved through i ntensive measurement within the temporal context ill which behavior occurs. ;This "process approach" to research, conducted in both naturalistic and la boratory settings, is presented here and placed in a methodological and the oretical framework. I Ye also attempt to make recent research on rite non-l inear dynamics of behavior more accessible by describing and illustrating t he uses of time in behavioral medicine research.