Psychological View of Pain: Clinical Pain and Experimental Pain

Abstract

Pain is a complex phenomena difficult to define. In spite of the wide research it has been subject to there still remain many conceptual, experimental and practica1 questions unsolved. The aim of this present work is, first of al1 to show that pain reactions are mainly determined by psychological variables and can therefore be dealt with as behavioural phenomena and be the subject of psychological study. Secondly, to stress the fact that notwithstanding the differences between experimental and clinical pain, experimental studies in bothfields are needed to achieve a better and more accurate definition and understanding of pain reactions and of the methods to control them.