How do we become: the -social bit

In the biopsychosocial model the bio- bit is well studied. The -psycho- part is less well understood but the -social part seems the real mystery.

The best example I can give is the different presentation of anorexia in Hong Kong which changed signifcantly towards a Westernised presentation after a media story which published the reference symptoms.

In this case the presentation of a mental illness changed in a culture. This is extraordinary.

Another case might be the introduction of tv to a tv-naive population. More eating and body image related beliefs were reported after the introduction of tv.

The healing of the hysteria epidemic is another major example. I can't elucidate more than to say the epidemic reduced to a relatively small prevalence. Perhaps the vibrator, something invented for the treatment of hysteria, was an amazingly successful treatment. Or perhaps society changed in a way which is beyond our explanation but healed the behavioural disorder.

And then there's homosexuaity. Healed solely by a change in sociey, not by the treatments. This aspect to me is least important to the question.

The question is how do we become?