2. Unit 7: Psychological Perspectives for Health and Social Care
OCR Level 3 Cambridge Technicals in Health and Social Care
Introduction to
Unit 7:
Psychological Perspectives for Health and Social Care

3. Introduction
Human nature can be investigated and explained in a variety of different ways.
Health and social care practitioners need to be aware of these different perspectives in psychology because they can influence how we understand a person’s behaviour and how we respond to them.

4. Perspectives in psychology
The key psychological perspectives are:
Social
The impact of others on our behaviour.
Psychodynamic
The role of early childhood experiences on our development and later life.
Biological
The role of genetics and the Central Nervous System.
Humanist
A holistic approach to human health through investigations of meaning, personal responsibility and self-actualisation.
Cognitive
How we process, remember and store information.
Behavioural
How we learn behaviours and respond to stimuli.

5. Perspectives in psychology
It is important that health and social care practitioners understand how these different perspectives can influence an individual’s health and wellbeing.
They can each play a role in informing the practitioner how best to help their clients, eg:
Biological:
Does our physiology and our genetic make up affect our health and behaviours?
Social: Does our family and friends’ approach to health and illness have an impact on our attitudes and decisions?
Psychodynamic: Have past experiences with health or illness shaped the way we behave?

6. What will you learn? After completing this unit you will:
Understand psychological approaches to
heath and social care
Understand key psychological perspectives

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