Contemporary psychology, Vol. 7 No. 2, 2004.
Review article
Psychological factors of acute pain
Dragutin Ivanec
Abstract
In this review the relation between psychological factors and pain perception is described. Sex differences, as well as cultural and racial differences in perception of pain are primarily ascribed to internalization of gender roles and to the process of socialization. Different concepts of personality try to explain possible variations in pain perception. However, the summarized results, in general, show that the contribution of personality differences in explaining those variations is rather small. Greater emphasis is primarily placed upon the analysis of cognitive factors, such as attention and emotions. Most of the research in that field is dedicated to possible biological differences in pain processing. The results indicate existence of relatively consistent brain processes which can be related to the decrease in pain perception due to attentional distraction. The greatest part of this review deals with the placebo effect which is a very important psychological factor in possible control of pain. The studies described consistently indicate that the placebo effect is based upon a mechanism of activation of endogenous opiodes system. Finally, this review describes hypnosis as one of the frequently used psychological techniques in the reduction of pain perception, placing an emphasis on the possible mechanisms of its effectiveness.
Keywords
Acute pain; personality; emotions; attention; placebo; hypnosis
Hrčak ID:
3252
URI
Publication date:
15.12.2004.
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