Third, biological breakthroughs are raising some interesting and troublesome psychological issues. Medical advances such as genetic testing pose a mine field for the mind. It's always been a part of health care, but its recognition is growing immensely. In 1980, he earned a joint appointment at the School of Medicine. As a child of the 1960s, Fisher was drawn to psychology as a way to help people.
Most people erroneously see self-control as mental stoicism.
But dieters who lose weight and smokers who quit acknowledge the temptation and plan around it, Fisher said. For example, putting the alarm clock across the room is essentially planning around the temptation to hit the 'off' switch and go back to sleep. In the course of his work, Fisher has become one of the nation's leading spokespersons on the issue of smoking and smoking cessation. On behalf of the American Lung Association, he has spoken to an array of audiences, has testified before Congress, and has appeared on national television to discuss smoking and how to promote nonsmoking. Over the years, Fisher's research interests have shifted from self-control to social support and the role it plays in health behavior modification.