Psychology perspectives

Psychological Perspectives Student’s Name Professor’s Name Institutional Affiliations Course Name and Number Due Date Psychological Perspectives Abstract This research paper investigates addiction to substance abuse through sociocultural and biopsychological viewpoints. It starts by recognizing the complexities that psychologists encounter while designing effective intervention approaches for addressing the issue. It also identifies the need to acknowledge the varied perspectives on how the problem occurs. Although popular arguments consider addictions as solely moral issues, psychological perspectives go beyond this viewpoint by deconstructing existing stereotypes and providing scientific and theoretical explanations of how such psychological and behavioral problems occur in societies. In this context, the discussions about sociocultural thinking introduce the concept, its history, its founder, and the central idea about the impact of culture on behavioral outcomes. Continued exploration of addiction through this lens reveals the various cultural aspects, including ethnic identities, social norms, families, and fads, that influence maladaptive behavior. Such an aspect uncovers factors psychologists should remain aware of while assessing their clients and formulating person-oriented interventions to assist such individuals in overcoming their addictions. The research also introduces biological aspects and its theorists, emphasizing the influence of biological events on human behavior. This focus draws attention to biological elements such as genetics and hormones in increased probability for addiction or substance abusing tendencies. Investigating this problem using the two psychological viewpoints confirms the complex factors that interact to cause a singular issue. Thus, psychologists should remain aware of such dynamics in their interventions. Keywords: Sociocultural perspective, substance abuse, addiction, and biopsychological perspective. Addiction Through Sociocultural and Biopsychological Perspectives Psychologists use different approaches to explain why individuals present with varied societal behaviors. Ciccarelli and White (2017) explore diverse personality theories that illustrate the development of various traits in people, including sociocultural and biopsychological perspectives. The discussions around these topics demonstrate their impact on fundamental development processes and the eventual manifestation of desirable or undesirable behaviors in communities. One area in which these theoretical approaches have assisted in clarifying dynamic aspects, elucidating its occurrence, and informing the treatment modalities is the concept of addiction in societies. Cicarelli and White (2017) extensively investigate this condition and demystify preexisting arguments. Heilig et al. (2021) unearth viewpoints that consider addiction as one’s weaknesses in character or a display of moral failing. However, the sociocultural and biopsychological perspectives deconstruct these stereotypes by providing scientific arguments demonstrating this health issue’s emergence. Sociocultural Perspective History and Main Ideas The sociocultural perspective has been used in the psychology niche for decades. Cicarelli and White (2017) indicate that the approach dates back to 1978 when Lev Vygotsky, a Russian psychologist, first formulated the thinking to explain the interconnected aspects that influence societal behaviors. His main idea behind this viewpoint was that culture significantly impacts social behavior outcomes. As a result, Vygotsky felt that the conduct and thinking of individuals arise from their social groups, family, and cultural context. Such thinking enabled the theorist to connect the diverse behaviors of persons to the multiple exposures in their lives, with each facet shaping their thinking in unique ways. Cicarelli and White (2017) clarify this view further by emphasizing that social norms, ethnic identities, and fads determine the normalized behaviors that individuals embrace. Such an understanding underlines the applicability of the sociocultural perspective in explaining the emergence of addictive issues. Addiction and Sociocultural Perspective Studies reveal that diverse factors in the sociocultural realm interact to increase or decrease exposure to substances, leading to their abuse and subsequent addiction. For instance, Cicarelli and White (2017) highlight that the environment or neighborhood that individuals grow in influences the level of exposure to constructive or destructive experiences. In this context, when children or youths witness adults normalizing consumption of alcohol or cigarettes, it increases their likelihood of emulating such behavior because they consider it acceptable. Other family-related aspects, such as parenting styles, can also inform the emergence of undesirable behavior that includes substance use dependence. For instance, the failure of parents to spend quality time with their children indicates that they deny them instructive guidance to recognize the harms presented by drug use. Such children may also feel lonely and vent their frustrations by engaging in destructive practices that gradually increase their probability of addiction. These examples demonstrate Vygotsky’s claims that cultural and family aspects can expose individuals to experiences that encourage substance abuse and the eventual development of ad...