The biopsychosocial perspective incorporates a developmental viewpoint. this means that

Intro

The biopsychosocial perspective is an integrated approach to psychology that incorporates three different perspectives and types of analysis: biological, psychological, and social-cultural. This AP® Psychology Crash Course Review on the biopsychosocial method will prepare you for the multiple choice and free response questions you will be given on your AP® Psychology exam. Although the biopsychosocial perspective has not been on the exam in several years, it’s still possible to receive a question about it. Whether or not you are asked a direct question on this perspective, it is extremely helpful to have a knowledge of the different perspectives to round out your knowledge going into the AP® Psychology exam. It is possible that understanding the biopsychosocial perspective will help you grasp other concepts as you study AP® Psychology.

Defining the BioPsychoSocial Perspective

The biopsychosocial approach, as compared to the other psychology paradigms, is a holistic approach to understanding an individual’s behavior that attributes it to multiple causes rather than just one. This perspective allows for the fact that the interactions of our body, mind, and our environment all affect each other in different ways. The idea of the model is that on their own, none of the three components are enough to sufficiently affect an individual’s health or wellness. The interrelated nature of all three factors is what truly leads to any given health outcome.

It’s also important to break down each of the three factors within the biopsychosocial method to understand how each affects our health. Biological influences are mainly an individual’s genetics and family history, but can also be related to a history of trauma or illness. Many psychological disorders have a hereditary component (for example, the biggest risk factor for getting schizophrenia is to have a first-degree relative that also has schizophrenia) and so genetics clearly have an important role to play regarding psychological disorders. However, as the biopsychosocial method suggests, other factors must also be involved, since having a family member with a mental illness doesn’t automatically mean you will inherit it yourself.

The next component of the biopsychosocial perspective is the psychological one. This component looks for a psychological cause for either a singular symptom or a combination of symptoms (mostly that have indicated behavior change such as symptoms of depression or anxiety). It is certainly true that many individuals have a predisposition or genetic vulnerability that puts them at a higher degree of risk for developing psychological issues. For example, individuals who are genetically vulnerable to having a negative affect thought process will be at a greater risk for depression. However, it is entirely possible that an individual with that genetic predisposition will not develop depression. So, psychological factors may work to exacerbate such a predisposition; this can also cause the individual to be at risk for other behaviors. An example of this is someone with depression and liver problems. Depression does not directly cause liver problems. However, someone with depression is more likely to abuse alcohol and so, therefore, could develop liver damage.

The social component of the biopsychosocial method covers a wide range of social factors. It includes an individual’s socioeconomic status, religion, culture, and even the level of technology available to them. A good example of a social factor would be a sad or stressful life event, such as a really bad break-up or someone getting fired from their job; both events can increase stress and put an individual at risk for illness. Such a taxing life event could be the social push that causes a person at risk for depression to develop this illness. This could then create physical or biological health problems that would further exacerbate one’s health issues. There are additional cultural factors within the social component. These include differences in expectations or beliefs about behavior and expression of mental health issues.

Who Founded the Perspective?

The biopsychosocial model is said to have been founded by Dr. George Engel and Dr. John Romano. They created it in an effort to develop a framework that addressed how the interactions between our biology, psychology, and social traits can influence and determine the cause, possible manifestation, and various outcomes of either wellness or disease.

Examples of the BioPsychoSocial Perspective

Example 1

Jack is an adolescent male who is depressed and finds social interactions with his peers difficult. If a biopsychologist were looking at Jack’s issues through just the biological lens, they might think that Jack has a genetic predisposition to depression that needs to be addressed. Or a psychodynamic-center psychologist could think that he has psychological, social anxiety issues which are preventing him from feeling comfortable in social interactions.

However, and this is why developmental psychologists are heavily invested in the biopsychosocial approach when it comes to adolescents, teenagers’ problems rarely have just one cause. There is so much going biologically throughout adolescence, and so many changes in an individual’s psychological and social experiences.

A psychologist looking at Jack’s case through the biopsychosocial perspective would say that Jack’s issues are most likely the result of multiple factors. For example, Jack’s depression could be a result of a number of possible causes from his childhood (harsh parenting styles like over-criticism, rejection within social groups, bullying, etc.). Jack may feel stressed in relationships because his parents were over-critical of him (psychological), and so he may try too hard to make friends and make others like him, which could cause his peers to withdraw from him (social). This may cause him to feel further depression and withdrawal (both psychological and social), and could cause later problems with his health (biological).

Example 2

Similar to Jack from example one, our next example is Jill, a college student who displays introverted behavioral tendencies. She prefers to stay in her room or the library rather than spend time with her roommates or try to make new friends. Some people may just think she’s inherently introverted, but her behavior could be due to several different factors.

For example, she could be introverted due to a genetic predisposition to have that personality trait. Perhaps it was psychologically and socially sparked in middle school because she had difficulty making friends and also was bullied. If so, the result is that, instead of trying to make friends in college, she keeps to herself. It also could be that she would rather spend time alone or in the library doing homework because her parents may have placed high expectations on her about her grades. This is a social/cultural factor that could influence her behavior.

What Else to Know about the BioPsychoSocial Perspective?

The best way to understand the biopsychosocial perspective is to understand how a psychologist would approach a patient in a clinical setting. The psychologist would need to recognize that their relationship with the patient and the relationships in a patient’s life are critical to providing proper health care. The psychologist would then use aspects of the patient’s self-awareness to adequately diagnose them, as well as to find out about the patient’s medical and biological history.

The psychologist’s next job is to determine whether biological, psychological, or social factors are the most important to understanding the health of the patient (or have the most impact on the patient). At the end, the patient needs to be given multidimensional treatment. In the biopsychosocial theory, treatment doesn’t just come in the form of a pill or medication (although that can be part of the multidimensional treatment plan); treatment can also be supported through therapy or other social changes.

Conclusion

The biopsychosocial perspective is one of the more recent perspectives to come into play in psychology, and has become one of the more prominent ones as well. Increasingly, science has discovered that each part of the system of our bodies is intertwined. As more information is discovered about the effects our psychological health and our environment have on our biological health, the holistic method of the biopsychosocial approach becomes more legitimate.

Are you struggling with understanding the various psychological perspectives? The rest of them are available on our blog, like the crash course on the behavioral perspective. Is there a topic that you want us to review but can’t find it on the blog? Let us know! And good luck on the exam!

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