Engel's biopsychosocial model is still relevant today
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 18, 2026

Behavioral Characterization of an Angelman Syndrome Mouse Model
Published on: October 20, 2023
1Medical School, University of Berne, Berne, Switzerland. rolf.adler@tele2.ch
Abstract:
In 1977, Engel published the seminal paper, "The Need for a New Medical Model: A Challenge for Biomedicine" [Science 196 (1977) 129-136]. He featured a biopsychosocial (BPS) model based on systems theory and on the hierarchical organization of organisms. In this essay, the model is extended by the introduction of semiotics and constructivism. Semiotics provides the language which allows to describe the relationships between the individual and his environment. Constructivism explains how an organism perceives his environment. The impact of the BPS model on research, medical education, and application in the practice of medicine is discussed.
Related Concept Videos
Models of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention II
The agent-host-environment model states that disease results from...
Introduction to Personality Psychology
Early Theories of Personality
The study of personality dates...
Carl Rogers' Humanistic Perspective on Personality
The organism refers to an individual's inherent blueprint, which Rogers saw as innately positive and directed toward helping others, unlike Freud's view of the id as driven by base impulses. The self is a person's...
Theoretical Approaches to Psychological Disorder
Biological approach
The biological approach posits that internal, organic factors are the primary causes of such disorders. This perspective emphasizes brain structure and function, genetic predispositions, and neurotransmitter imbalances. For example, schizophrenia has been associated with both genetic...
Humanistic Psychology
This approach...
Psychodynamic Therapy

