Physiological factors (including health and illness, physical exercise, sleep and rest, nutrition, relaxation, and substance use or misuse) both shape and are shaped by the personal cognitive and behavioural strategies individuals use to manage daily life, through continuous interactions with other dimensions of personhood.
From a biopsychosocial perspective, George L. Engel (1977) argued that biological, psychological, and social processes operate as an integrated system, providing the foundation for understanding these reciprocal influences. Physiological states influence core states (such as arousal, energy, fatigue, pain, and bodily comfort), which in turn affect attention, self-regulation, and the capacity to pursue daily goals. Sleep deprivation, chronic illness, or poor nutrition can impair cognitive factors including memory, executive functioning, and decision-making, whereas regular exercise and adequate sleep enhance neuroplasticity, learning, and cognitive performance (Ratey & Loehr, 2011).
Physiological functioning also influences emotional factors, as demonstrated by Antonio Damasio’s (1994) somatic marker hypothesis, which proposes that bodily states guide emotional processing and decision-making, while chronic stress dysregulates physiological systems that contribute to anxiety and depression.
Through reciprocal causation, physiological well-being strengthens motivational factors (including aims, hopes, goals, persistence, and self-efficacy) consistent with Albert Bandura’s (1986, 1997) social cognitive theory, which explains how beliefs about personal capability are influenced by physical experiences and, in turn, determine behavioural choices.
These interactions extend to behavioural factors, because healthy habits such as exercise, sleep hygiene, balanced nutrition, and relaxation are learned and maintained through reciprocal relationships among behaviour, cognition, and environmental influences (Bandura, 1986).
Physiological experiences may also influence spiritual factors, as illness, recovery, meditation, contemplative practices, and physical vitality often affect meaning, purpose, transcendence, and religious engagement; conversely, spiritual coping has been associated with improved psychological adjustment and health outcomes (Pargament, 1997).
Finally, physiological functioning is inseparable from contextual factors, including family relationships, socioeconomic conditions, work demands, healthcare access, culture, and the physical environment, which both influence health behaviours and determine opportunities for effective self-management, reflecting Urie Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological systems theory that situates individual functioning within nested environmental systems.
Together, these perspectives demonstrate that physiological factors are not isolated biological processes but dynamic components of an integrated personhood system in which bodily functioning, cognition, emotion, motivation, spirituality, behaviour, and context continuously interact to shape personal strategies for living. Thus we see that personal life strategies (the enduring cognitive and behavioural patterns by which people seek to manage life as a whole) emerge from a dynamic interaction between physiological factors (such as health, illness, sleep, exercise, nutrition, and stress), core states (beliefs, values, attitudes, identity, and worldview), cognitions, motivations, emotions, behaviours, and environmental contexts, all under the sovereign providence of God while preserving genuine human responsibility.
Scripture presents human beings as integrated unities of body and soul rather than as disconnected physical and spiritual entities (Genesis 2:7; Psalm 139:13–16; 1 Corinthians 6:19–20), so bodily conditions influence thinking, emotion, and conduct (e.g., Elijah's restoration through food, sleep, and God's presence in 1 Kings 19:1–18), while beliefs and desires shape behaviour (Proverbs 4:23; Romans 12:2).
Theologically, Augustine (354–430) argued that rightly ordered loves (ordo amoris) determine the orientation of human life, demonstrating how motivation and values organise behaviour toward or away from God (Augustine, 397/2008). John Calvin (1509–1564) further emphasised that knowledge of God and self are inseparable, explaining how worldview and identity fundamentally shape human conduct (Calvin, 1559/1960).
In modern psychology, Kurt Lewin (1936) proposed that behaviour is a function of the interaction between the person and the environment (B = f[P,E]), highlighting the importance of contextual influences; George Kelly (1955) showed that people construct personal meaning through cognitive systems that guide anticipation and action; Albert Ellis (1962) demonstrated that beliefs mediate emotional and behavioural responses, while Aaron Beck (1976) identified enduring cognitive schemas that shape interpretation, motivation, and emotional experience. Albert Bandura (1986) expanded this understanding through reciprocal determinism, explaining that personal factors, behaviour, and environment continually influence one another, with self-efficacy affecting persistence and resilience. Richard Lazarus (1991) contributed appraisal theory, showing that emotional responses depend upon individuals' evaluations of situations rather than circumstances alone. Edward Deci and Richard Ryan (1985; 2000) demonstrated through Self-Determination Theory that motivation flourishes when the needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness are supported, while Urie Bronfenbrenner (1979) situated these processes within nested ecological systems ranging from family to culture. From a health perspective, George Engel's (1977) biopsychosocial model established that biological, psychological, and social factors jointly determine health and functioning, a view strongly compatible with the biblical understanding of holistic personhood.
Within Christian psychology, Eric L. Johnson (2007) argued that psychological science should be interpreted within a Biblical worldview in which spiritual realities, virtue, and relationship with God are essential explanatory dimensions. Stanton L. Jones and Richard E. Butman (2011) integrated psychological research with Christian theology, demonstrating how physiology, cognition, emotion, moral agency, relationships, and spiritual formation mutually influence lifelong patterns of living. Siang-Yang Tan (2011) showed how spiritual disciplines, prayer, Scripture, and the work of the Holy Spirit complement empirically supported psychological interventions in promoting holistic growth.
Together these contributors demonstrate that personal life strategies are maintained through continuous reciprocal interactions among bodily functioning, beliefs, motivations, emotions, behaviour, and social environments, while Christian theology adds that these interactions are ultimately directed toward either conformity to Christ or conformity to the world (Romans 8:29; Romans 12:1–2; Galatians 5:22–25), with sanctification involving the renewing work of the Holy Spirit that transforms cognition, character, relationships, and embodied living in ways that honour God and promote human flourishing.