Making the case for psychophysiology during the era of molecular biology

The Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) at the Nation al Institutes of Health opened in 1995 to facilitate the advancement of res earch on social and behavioral influences on health. The establishment of t he OBSSR coincided with the ascendancy of molecular biology, with its empha sis on more reductionistic influences on health. This greater emphasis on g enetic aspects of health has the potential to produce a widening chasm betw een biomedical research and social, behavioral, and psychological research. We discuss the chasm between sociobehavioral and biomedical research durin g what might be considered the era of molecular biology and propose the con cept of levels of analysis as a unifying framework for research in the heal th sciences, using research on hypertension in African Americans as a repre sentative example. We also argue for the primacy of psychophysiological res earch in bridging the chasm and furthering a multilevel perspective and sum marize some of the activities of the OBSSR that are relevant to this perspe ctive.