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MIchaeL f. steger, Joo Yeon shIn, YerIn shIM, and arIssa fItch-MartIn over 50 years ago, Time magazine began a story with the question, "What is a chair?" ("art: architects' furniture," 1957). to many of us, the answer is so simple that we might suspect a trap. a chair is something one sits on. perhaps the prototypical chair pops into one's mind: four legs, a back, a flat or subtly contoured surface perpendicular to the legs and back. perhaps some armrests. Yet, it is also easy to conjure up images of chairs with one, two, three, or no legs; armrests or not; flat seating surface or perhaps webbing, mesh, straps, or a plump cushion for sitting on; a towering back, an enveloping back, an intricately carved back, a rigid slab, a minimalist cantilevered oval, or no back at all. perhaps there is no form whatsoever, as in a beanbag. Yet we would all agree that we could call each of these objects a chair. and of course people can sit on all manner of things, from a snowdrift to a horse. some things we agree are chairs and some are just other things we sit on. Yet some are chairs museums bid on for their permanent collections. What is special about this kind of chair? In other words, what are the ideal qualities of the perfect chair?

Risk factors for melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, include lifetime sun exposure and a history of sunburns. However, a minority of adolescents report consistent engagement in sun protective behaviors. The few sun protection interventions that have targeted adolescents have had little effect on behavior change, which suggests that a better understanding of the issue, especially from the adolescents' perspective, is needed. Although efforts to qualitatively examine adolescent sun protection have been carried out in a handful of countries, no studies to date have focused on U.S. adolescents. We conducted focus groups with 44 6th-8th grade students in Colorado to explore their sun protection knowledge, attitudes and behaviors. Results supported previous findings that adolescents do not engage in regular skin protection but have experienced the negative consequences of sun exposure (e.g., severe sun burns, and blistering). In addition, participants demonstrated limited and sometimes inaccurate knowledge about the long-term risks of sun exposure, as well as effective methods of sun protection. Barriers to engaging in sun protective behaviors included a desire to tan, inconvenience, and physical discomfort. Facilitators included peer and family encouragement, previous experience with sunburns and/or skin cancer, and knowledge of potential consequences. These findings provide valuable insights that can inform future intervention and research related to sun protection among U.S. adolescents.

AimPain is a common and a complex experience among patients with cancer. The purpose of this review is to provide a rational for a psychologist’s role in cancer pain management and a guide for doing so based on an examination of the current cancer pain literature.MethodA literature review was conducted using the search terms: “cancer pain” AND “nonpharmacological interventions”, “cancer pain”, and “pain management” AND “cancer pain”. Peer-reviewed articles (published between 2000-2015) in which the authors had access to the full-linked text, books, and websites were included.ResultsA total of 451 hits were returned of which 53 were relevant and considered for this review. These were then organized into the following topics: complex cancer pain syndromes, current cancer physiological therapies, the multifactorial model of cancer pain, psychosocial assessment and interventions, barriers to treatment, and clinical implications that impact the future of behavioural interventions as part of cancer treatment.ConclusionEach patient with cancer has a unique pain experience that is shaped by biopsychosocial factors. Because of this, using a multidimensional and multidisciplinary approach is needed to optimize treatment outcomes. To maximize their role, psychologists need to help facilitate this process and to address any attitude and/or knowledge shortcomings they may have.