The biopsychosocial perspective is
an integrated approach to psychology that incorporates three different perspectives and types of analysis
: biological, psychological, and social-cultural. … It is possible that understanding the biopsychosocial perspective will help you grasp other concepts as you study AP® Psychology.
Biopsychosocial model
helps primary care doctors to understand interactions among biological and psychosocial components of illnesses to improve the dyadic relationship between clinicians
and their patients and multidisciplinary approaches in patient care.
BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL APPROACH:
People may start smoking for PSYCHOLOGICAL reasons
, such as thinking it makes them less stressed or because of personality traits (extroverts are more likely to smoke). People may start smoking due to SOCIAL networks or perceived cultural norms.
The biopsychosocial model views
health and illness behaviors as products of biological characteristics
(such as genes), behavioral factors (such as lifestyle, stress, and health beliefs), and social conditions (such as cultural influences, family relationships, and social support).
According to the biopsychosocial model, interactions between people’s genetic makeup (biology), mental health and personality (psychology), and sociocultural environment (social world) contribute to their experience of
health
or illness.
According to the biopsychosocial model, it is the deep interrelation of all three factors (
biological, psychological, social
) that leads to a given outcome—each component on its own is insufficient to lead definitively to health or illness.
What is Biopsychological approach?
The biopsychosocial approach
systematically considers biological, psychological, and social factors and their complex interactions in understanding health, illness, and health care delivery
. • Biological, psychological, and social factors exist along a continuum of natural systems, as. depicted in the diagram above.
The biopsychosocial model has led to the development of the
most therapeutic and cost-effective interdisciplinary pain management programs
and makes it far more likely for the chronic pain patient to regain function and experience vast improvements in quality of life.
This model provides developmental psychologists a
theoretical basis
for the interplay of both hereditary and psychosocial factors on an individuals’ development.
What types of research characterize the Biopsychological approach?
Biopsychological research involves
both experiments and nonexperimental studies
. Two common types of nonex- perimental studies are quasiexperimental studies and case studies. experiments The experiment is the method used by scientists to study causation, that is, to find out what causes what.
The biopsychosocial approach systematically
considers biological, psychological, and social factors and their complex interactions in understanding health, illness
, and health care delivery.
This biopsychosocial-spiritual model is not a “dualism” in which a “soul” accidentally inhabits a body. Rather, in this model, the biological, the psychological,
the social, and the spiritual are only distinct dimensions of the person
, and no one aspect can be disaggregated from the whole.
Is pain psychological or biological?
People often think of pain as a purely physical sensation. However,
pain has biological, psychological and emotional factors
. Furthermore, chronic pain can cause feelings such as anger, hopelessness, sadness and anxiety. To treat pain effectively, you must address the physical, emotional and psychological aspects.
The biopsychosocial model encourages clinicians to explain phenomena such as depression by
examining all relevant biological, psychological, and social factors
that might be contributing to the development or maintenance of the disorder.
Common “explanations” include: 1) brain imbalances, 2) traumatic episodes from childhood, or catchall blame… 3)
poor parenting
. Each of these explanations does have some merit. However, anxiety disorders are much more complex.
Examples of psychosocial stressors include
divorce, the death of a child, prolonged illness
, unwanted change of residence, a natural catastrophe, or a highly competitive work situation.
