Perceived Injustice in Chronic Pain: an Examination Through the Lens of Predictive Processing

Abstract

Chronic pain conditions have been shown to be exacerbated by psychological factors, and a better understanding of these factors can inform clinical practice and improve the efficacy of interventions. The current paper investigates perceived injustice, a novel psychosocial construct, within a framework influenced by the tenets of predictive processing. The proposed conceptual model derived from tenets of predictive processing yields a single hierarchical self-reconfiguring system driven by prediction, which accounts for a wide range of human experiences such as perception, behavior, learning and emotion. This conceptualization can inform the development and implementation of more targeted therapeutic interventions for chronic pain.

Keywords::

• chronic pain
• expectancies
• goal-oriented behavior
• perceived injustice
• predictive processing
• psychological factors

Financial & competing interest disclosure

Research was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) of the NIH under grant number T32 DA035165 (T32, MS Ziadni and JA Sturgeon) and P01AT006651 (P01, DA Bissell). The authors claim no financial conflicts. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

Research was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) of the NIH under grant number T32 DA035165 (T32, MS Ziadni and JA Sturgeon) and P01AT006651 (P01, DA Bissell). The authors claim no financial conflicts. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed. No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript