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Chronic Pain, Stress, and the Dynamics of Affective Differentiation
Author(s) -
Davis Mary C.,
Zautra Alex J.,
Smith Bruce W.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of personality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.082
H-Index - 144
eISSN - 1467-6494
pISSN - 0022-3506
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-6494.2004.00293.x
Subject(s) - affect (linguistics) , psychology , stressor , psychological intervention , perception , chronic pain , clinical psychology , psychological stress , developmental psychology , psychiatry , neuroscience , communication
We describe a program of research examining how the relationship between positive and negative affect varies both between individuals and within individuals over time. This Dynamic Model of Affect (DMA) proposes that under conditions that promote maximal information processing, positive and negative affective systems function relatively independently. In contrast, under conditions characterized by uncertainty, including pain and stress, the affects become strongly inversely related. Included in our consideration are potential individual differences in the ability to sustain affective differentiation during pain and other stressors and the implications of this model for perceptions of social relations and for interventions to improve well‐being among the chronically ill.