Читать книгу Abnormal Psychology - William J. Ray - Страница 46

In his 1977 paper in the journal Science, George Engel introduced the term biopsychosocial. He suggested that individuals with mental illness or another medical disorder should be understood from more than just a biological perspective. Diabetes is a disorder, but it is also related to how the person eats and exercises. Likewise, depression and anxiety can be influenced by social and emotional factors. Thus, it is necessary to see the signs and symptoms of the disorder in a larger context. Otherwise, one has a limited perspective that ignores the social, psychological, and behavioral dimensions of any disorder. Therefore, as a mental health professional, you would want to know more about an individual than just the symptoms that the person describes, as represented in Figure 1.2. This could be his or her family life, work conditions, and cultural practices as well as eating habits and how the person exercises.

As you will read throughout this book, since the 1970s researchers have come a long way in understanding how various levels ranging from genetics to culture interact with each other in a complex manner. Let us now turn to a consideration of culture through the ages that will take us to an understanding of behavior and experience on a number of levels. In later chapters, I will introduce you to additional levels of analysis.

Concept Check

 Identify the three major themes this book takes in regard to psychopathology.

 What does level of analysis mean? Identify seven of the levels of analysis presented for studying psychopathology. Which is the most important?

 How is the biopsychosocial model related to the broader levels of analysis approach?

Culture: How are we a part of culture, and what is its influence?

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Social relationships: How do we relate to others?

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Individual: How do we relate to ourselves in terms of behavior and experience?

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