Biopsychosocial model
BIOpsychosocial
“Biological soil from which
personality develops”
Millon (2004, p.17)
Evolution and adaptation
Evolutionary theory
1.
2.
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organism survival and propagation of genes
(reproduction)
enhance pleasure/survival, avoid pain
Inherited temperament + life experiences =
person’s personality
Aggression and fear, for example, have
survival function
Temperament – the soil
Thomas & Chess
Inherited biological variability in responsiveness to the environment
Regularity
Predictability in
biological functions. eg.,
waking, sleeping, bowel
movements, hunger,
becoming tired
Activity
High or low
physical or mental
energy levels
Ability to stay on task through frustrations
Bold or cautious
(initial reaction)
How the child responds, positively or
negatively, to the environment
Distractability
Tendency to get sidetracked by
other things going on around them
Adaptability
Length of time it takes to adjust
to changes in environment
Mood
Generally
cheerful or
stormy
Persistence &
attention span
Intensity
Sensitivity
Intensity level of response to a
situation (positive or negative)
How disturbed or distracted
by changes in the environment
Cloninger (1987)
Neurobiological basis for personality

Harm Avoidance
(respond intensely to aversive stimuli and to learn to avoid punishment)
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High Serotonergic activity = high HA
Novelty Seeking
(frequent exploratory activity and intense excitement in response to
novel stimuli )
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Low Dopaminergic activity = high NS
Reward Dependence
(external approval-seeking vs. cold, aloof)
Low Noradrenergic activity = high RD
(Neuro)biology
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Brain functioning affects personality (eg.
disinhibition, impulsivity, irritability, mood
change, tendency to anxious responding,
attention)
Effects of drug abuse or medication
Head/Brain injury (Phineas Gage - irritable,
quick-tempered, and impatient )
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Hormones
Other bodily system or chemical
imbalances that impacts on psychological
functioning, activity levels, emotions and
behaviour
Executive functioning
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Motor function, problem solving, spontaneity,
memory, language, initiation, judgement, impulse
control, and social and sexual behaviour
Pre-frontal cortex doesn’t fully mature until your
early 20s (Giedd, 2004)
Increased left frontal lobe activity associated with lower
likelihood of ASPD (Deckel et al 1996).
Risk taking and non-compliance with rules (Miller, 1985)
Individuals who pathologically lie, cheat and deceive =
relatively more “white matter” and slightly less “grey
matter” in prefrontal cortex (Yang & Raine, 2005)
Psychopathy neurobiology
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Psychopaths do not respond to emotionladen statements or pictures as
nonpsychopaths (Williamson et al 1991).
Blood flow in the cortex shows different
processing of emotional words in
psychopaths vs nonpsychopaths (Intrator et
al 1997).
Low serotonin levels associated with displays
of aggression, violence and impulsivity
(Siever & Trestman 1993)
We are biological creatures
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Both biological and environment contribute to personality (Jang
& Vernon, 2001).
40-60% heritability of personality dimensions (Livesley et al,
1993) Anxiousness, callousness, cognitive distortion,
compulsivity, identity problems, oppositionality, restricted
expression, social avoidance, stimulus seeking and
suspiciousness
Literature makes links between personality & brain functioning.
Pros and Cons of Biological
perspective
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Helps to understand biological limitations, eg. tendency to seek
rewards or avoid pain.
Bridges biology and psychology
Absolving of responsibility
Creates further prejudice and stigma
Limited strategies to compensate for genetics and evolution
No clear cut answers as relatively new area of study.
BiopsychoSOCIAL
Environmental factors
Critical period of development
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Birth = 30% size of adult brain
1 year old = 55%
2 years old = 80%
(Novitt-Moreno 1995)
5 years old = 90%
After birth, there is a period of rapid synapse formation in the
infant's brain.
If there is grossly inadequate care in infancy, the infant's brain
and other abilities that depend on brain development can be
compromised and may not easily be changed later on.
Continual
trauma or
stress
Oversensitivity in
brain and body’s
response to stress
Heightened
readiness to
respond to threat,
even when threat
is not apparent.
Types of significant early
experiences
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Core needs not met – eg. affection, empathy,
stability and guidance
Trauma / victimisation by a very domineering,
abusive, or highly critical care-giver
Identifying with and internalising the messages of
significant care-giver’s, eg. critical and selfpunishing voice.
Overprotected, overindulged or given an excessive
degree of freedom and autonomy without any limits
being set
Invalidation – inner experienced denied, trivialised or
punished
Replicating the early experience
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Assumptions, labelling
and stigma
Misunderstood by
others
Social exclusion
Exclusion from services
Inconsistency from
services
Invalidating
experiences (riddicule,
trivialisation of feelings)
BioPsychosocial
How we come to understand
ourselves and others
Attachment style
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Children use attachment figures (familiar
people) as a secure base to explore from and
return to.
Parental responses lead to the development
of patterns of attachment
They develop internal working models which
will guide the individual's feelings, thoughts
and expectations in later relationships
Early Maladaptive Schemas
Unconditional (entrenched) themes reflecting early (preverbal)
childhood experiences, which define later behaviours, thoughts,
feelings and relationships with others.
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Because they are set from an early age, EMS become familiar and thus comfortable, which
makes them difficult to change in adulthood.
Once a childhood pattern is established we tend to repeat it over and over, somehow
setting the same destructive themes and conditions in adulthood.
EMS are often seen in those with personality and emotional disorders.
Example:
Mike’s parents showed no emotional warmth towards him and subjected him to
frequent and unpredictable physical punishment and material deprivation to the point
he and his brother were taken into care for approx 2 years at the age of 7. He
recalled seeing his mother petty stealing on occasion from a young age. His main sense
of gaining emotional connection, approval and acceptance from others became his
ability to provide materially and from fighting other children. From an early age,
stealing and violence became his main means of gaining self-worth and purpose. He
went on to receive a string of convictions for violent and acquisitive offences from
the age of 12. Unsurprisingly, he did not develop empathy for others and in later adult
life he killed a stranger. This was in response to command hallucinations during an
acute psychotic illness, triggered by the breakdown of significant relationships and
substance misuse. He later explained the impact of doing this at the time was like
“tying my shoelaces”
Mike’s EMS
EMOTIONAL
DEPRIVATION
Expectation that one's desire for a normal degree of emotional
support will not be adequately met by others.
(1) Nurturance (2) acceptance (3) empathy
SELF-SACRIFICE
Excessive focus on voluntarily meeting the needs of others in
daily situations, at the expense of one's own gratification. The
most common reasons are: to prevent causing pain to
others; to avoid guilt from feeling selfish; or to maintain the
connection with others perceived as needy .
EMOTIONAL
INHIBITION
ABANDONMENT
/ INSTABILITY
The excessive inhibition of spontaneous action, feeling, or
communication -- usually to avoid disapproval by others,
feelings of shame, or losing control of one's impulses.
The perceived instability or unreliability of those available for
support and connection.
(Social) learning theory

Behaviour is learned - through experiencing
and observing outcomes
Repeat Rewards
Outcomes
Teenager sees smoking cannabis
in a group of peers gets members
accepted. He tries it and is
accepted by the group.
Smoking cannabis =
acceptance
Avoid pain
A prisoner observes that other
assaultative prisoners get moved
off the wing instantly. He does this
and it removes him from a source
of threat that he perceives.
Violence = remove fear
Functional analysis
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What function does the behaviour serve for the
individual?
Antecedents
 Behaviour
 Consequences
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What is maintaining the use of the current antisocial
behaviour?
What is maintaining the non-use of the prosocial
behaviour?
PD cognitive styles
(Adapted from Pretzer & Beck 1996)
Personality
Example belief
Strategy
Antisocial
You’re out for yourself or you’re a
goody goody
Predatory
Borderline
I’m bad. I’m worthless
Self-punishment
Dependent
I need people to survive
Help-seeking
Narcissistic
I’m special and above the rules
Competitive
Histrionic
I go by my feelings
Exhibitionist
Schizoid
Relationships are messy
Autonomous
Detached
Paranoid
Goodwill hides a hidden motive
Defensive
Avoidant
People will reject the real me
Withdrawal
If I don't perform at the highest
level, I will fail
Dogmatic. Unrelenting
standards based on fear.
(Davidson 2000)
Compulsive
Experience

What experiences would lead someone to
develop such beliefs?
Example of BPS model
Biological risk
Inherited emotional sensitivity
Invalidating environment
Denying, ridiculing, ignoring, or judging
another’s feelings
“You are wrong”
“Good job. Now don’t you see how silly you were
being?”
"stop being a crybaby".
Negating private experiences
Physical/sexual/emotional abuse
Confusion
Distrust of own feelings
High emotional sensitivity
Rapid extreme arousal
Slow return to baseline
Emotional dysregulation
Swings between extreme inhibition
and disinhibition