Pain: Defining Pain Critique


	Pain: Defining Pain Critique
	Advantages Modern definitions incorporate the subjective nature of the pain experience Pain is adaptive because it provides feedback about the body - Escape danger Used to be a lack of anaesthetics use in infant survey in 1940s-70s, but now know that infants feel pain just like adults Ineffective medical treatment and varying experiences demonstrated support for a psychological factor Gate-control theory considers pain as a perception, the individual as active and multiple causes of pain	Disadvantages Adaptiveness of pain depends on sensitivity - Congenital analgesia = insensitivity Earlier definitions suggested a single external casual pathway Gate-control theory assumes some external cause, separates the body and mind (although says they interact) and no evidence has been found for the 'gate' Issues with the research make definitions difficult: Subjective view makes observation hard; Unclear how bio and psych interact; Lack of knowledge about onset - Hard to synthesise evidence Doesn't consider mental pain, perhaps because it is hard to define, however it is an important concept (Tossani 2013)
	Evaluation Definitions have moved in the right direction since earlier stages, however, there remains issues that restrict defining pain

Modern definitions incorporate the subjective nature of the pain experience
Pain is adaptive because it provides feedback about the body - Escape danger
Used to be a lack of anaesthetics use in infant survey in 1940s-70s, but now know that infants feel pain just like adults
Ineffective medical treatment and varying experiences demonstrated support for a psychological factor
Gate-control theory considers pain as a perception, the individual as active and multiple causes of pain

Adaptiveness of pain depends on sensitivity - Congenital analgesia = insensitivity
Earlier definitions suggested a single external casual pathway
Gate-control theory assumes some external cause, separates the body and mind (although says they interact) and no evidence has been found for the 'gate'
Issues with the research make definitions difficult: Subjective view makes observation hard; Unclear how bio and psych interact; Lack of knowledge about onset - Hard to synthesise evidence
Doesn't consider mental pain, perhaps because it is hard to define, however it is an important concept (Tossani 2013)

Definitions have moved in the right direction since earlier stages, however, there remains issues that restrict defining pain

Get Revising