Biological Modulation by Contingencies: Empirical Review and Conceptual Aspects

Abstract

Stress is considered a non-specific biological reaction that is modulated in its quantitative and qualitative characteristics by the psychological interaction of individuals in the face of certain contingency structures. The purpose of this paper is to identify the correspondence between the empirical data referred to and the conceptual categories proposed by the psychological model of biological health developed by Ribes in 1990. Some experimental research is referred to as antecedents, whose data are congruent with the proposed conceptual categories. In the same way, the author’s research is reviewed, which confirms some elements proposed in the model, such as the relationship between different concepts in psychology and biology. Some research mentions interactive styles as consistent ways of interacting in the face of certain contingencies that inhibit or promote the biological stress reaction, increasing or decreasing the biological vulnerability of organisms and, therefore, generating the possibility of biological pathology. The classificatory role is highlighted, as well as guiding the research of this model in the field of Health Psychology. The absence of research on substitute competencies is mentioned, and the importance of including the conceptual representation of the sociocultural dimension of behavior in the model, and how it conditions the modes of individual psychological interaction in congruence with the beliefs and customs of specific groups, is highlighted.