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What is psycho-physiological orientation and an example?

User Katalin
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Final answer:

Psycho-physiological orientation is the correlation and interaction between psychological processes and physiological responses. An example includes the placebo effect, where beliefs influence physical health outcomes. Concepts like psychophysical parallelism and research by evolutionary psychologists also illustrate this interaction.

Step-by-step explanation:

Psycho-physiological orientation refers to the study and understanding of how psychological processes relate to physiological responses within the body. For example, researchers in health psychology may investigate how an individual's thoughts and emotions can affect their bodily functions, such as their immune response or heart rate. One compelling illustration of this is the placebo effect, where an individual's belief in the efficacy of a treatment can lead to actual physiological improvements, despite receiving a non-active substance.

Similarly, psychophysical parallelism is a concept in philosophy of mind that suggests a correlation between mental and physical events without causal interaction. It's rooted in the work of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, who argued that every mental event is parallel to a physical event, although the two do not interact causally.

Evolutionary psychologists have demonstrated psycho-physiological relevance through research showing how human behavior and preferences—such as mate selection—are influenced by evolutionary pressures and manifest through both psychological and biological expressions.

User Gmponos
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