Coyne's research from the 1980s[2][5] suggested that negative responses by others to depressive behavior can increase the social isolation of depressed individuals, potentially leading to a "depressive spiral".[6][7]
A 2007 study led by Coyne found that positive emotional well-being was not associated with increased life expectancy among head and neck cancer patients.[8][9][10]
Coyne has criticized the field of positive psychology and the research claiming that a positive attitude can impact one's health.[11][12] He has also criticized studies which have concluded that personality traits are linked to an increased risk of cancer death.[13]
Coyne has stated that a 1970s study by Ellen Langer, which found that elderly people given plants to take care of lived longer than those who were not, would not have "much credibility today, nor would it meet the tightened standards of rigor."[14]
Coyne has also criticized studies that claimed to have shown that acceptance and commitment therapy was effective in reducing rehospitalization in cases of psychosis. In his article "Troubles in the Branding of Psychotherapies as "Evidence Supported'",[15] Coyne stated:
On September 3, 2012 the APA Division 12 website announced a rating of "strong evidence" for the efficacy of acceptance and commitment therapy for psychosis. I was quite skeptical. I posted links on Facebook and Twitter to a series of blog posts (1, 2, 3) in which I had previously debunked the study claiming to demonstrate that a few sessions of ACT significantly reduced rehospitalization of psychotic patients.
David Klonsky, a friend on FB who maintains the Division 12 treatment website quickly contacted me and indicated that he would reevaluate the listing after reading my blog posts and that he had already contacted the section editor to get her evaluation. Within a day, the labeling was changed to "designation under re-review as of 9/3/12" and it is now (10/16/12) "modest research support."
— James C. Coyne
In 2015, Coyne attacked Gabriele Oettingen's book Rethinking Positive Thinking and accused Oettingen of aggressively promoting pseudoscience while ignoring other research in clinical psychology.[16][17] Coyne pointed out that as part of Oettingen's aggressive promotional campaign for her book, her own son created Wikipedia articles about her work.[17]
In 2017, Coyne attacked his co-editors at the Journal of Health Psychology, calling one a "disgusting old fart neoliberal hypocrite" and telling another to "f*** off. Let's get all this backchannel bullshit into the open, you ol' sleazebag".[18] The disagreements were over the special issue on the PACE trial for chronic fatigue syndrome, which three of his co-editors considered to be too one-sided.[18]
^Daly, John A. (2011). "Personality and interpersonal communication". In Knapp, Mark L.; Daly, John A. (eds.). The Sage Handbook of Interpersonal Communication (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications. pp. 131–168 (141). ISBN9781412974745. OCLC731536397.
