IngentaConnect Pain and Folk Theory

Authors: Chapman C.R.¹; Nakamura Y.¹; Chapman C.N.¹

Source: Brain and Mind, Volume 1, Number 2, August 2000 , pp. 209-222(14)

Publisher: Springer

Abstract:

Pain is not a primitive sensory event but rather a complex perception and a process by which a person interacts with the internal and external environments, constructs meaning, and engages in action. Because folk beliefs are central to meaning, folk concepts of pain play multiple causal roles in a pain patient's interaction with health care providers and others. In every case, the notion of pain is linked to a goal-directed behavior that is useful to the person. The wide variation in concepts of pain across individuals suffering with pain underscores the richness and complexity of the pain experience. In some cases involving chronic pain, the patient may form a maladaptive cluster of behaviors around the concept of pain. Patient beliefs and expectations are an important part of many chronic pain syndromes, and patients can benefit from intervention directed at revising the individual's folk model of pain. Memetics offers a framework for identifying the memes that patients hold and determining whether patient memes fit or clash with provider memes.

Keywords: pain; medicine; folk theory; consciousness; memetics

Language: English

Document Type: Regular paper

Affiliations: 1: University of Washington, Department of Anesthesiology, Seattle, Washington

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