Marena McLeod Introduction to Psychology 1133 03 Assignment #2 Reducer-Augmenter Scale When I was in middle school, I went to a summer camp in Tennessee, where I spent the week out in the woods doing all sorts of activities. During one of the weeks, in my second year of camp, the girls in my cabin and I played tug-o-war with a group of guys. A few games in, I didn’t manage to plant my feet very well before the other side started pulling and I promptly went flying because I was a scrawny seventh grader with the muscle mass of a starved chicken. Having scraped my knee up pretty badly on the gravel, I went to the camp nurse, who fussed over me and quickly got to cleaning my wound. I distinctly remember when she disinfected it I felt the sting,
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From a biological point of view, I likely inherited my mother’s high pain tolerance. I also manage pain biologically through yoga and massage, which, as the gate-control theory says, reduces the pain that your brain registers. I also enjoy activities that cause an influx of adrenaline, and my awareness of injuries during those activities can be compromised by the adrenaline rush. Psychologically, I often distract myself using humor or rationale. When I hurt myself as a child by doing something ill-advised, I often shifted my focus from the pain to the satisfaction having done whatever ridiculous feat I had been determined to accomplish. I also learned to diminish pain through observation. If I did something potentially hurtful, my mom would give me a couple warnings and leave the choice to listen or not listen up to me. On the occasions I chose not to listen and consequently hurt myself, my mom would say “I hope it hurt,” not because she wanted me to get hurt, but because she knew would learn any way but the hard way. Out of stubbornness and pride, I refused to admit my mom had been right, so I ignored the pain and carried on as usual. On the socio-cultural side, pain is often viewed as a weakness in American culture. Out of a desire to be strong and resilient, I often ignore or tolerate pain. When I injure myself when I am alone, even smaller injuries tend to hurt more and I am
From a biological point of view, I likely inherited my mother’s high pain tolerance. I also manage pain biologically through yoga and massage, which, as the gate-control theory says, reduces the pain that your brain registers. I also enjoy activities that cause an influx of adrenaline, and my awareness of injuries during those activities can be compromised by the adrenaline rush. Psychologically, I often distract myself using humor or rationale. When I hurt myself as a child by doing something ill-advised, I often shifted my focus from the pain to the satisfaction having done whatever ridiculous feat I had been determined to accomplish. I also learned to diminish pain through observation. If I did something potentially hurtful, my mom would give me a couple warnings and leave the choice to listen or not listen up to me. On the occasions I chose not to listen and consequently hurt myself, my mom would say “I hope it hurt,” not because she wanted me to get hurt, but because she knew would learn any way but the hard way. Out of stubbornness and pride, I refused to admit my mom had been right, so I ignored the pain and carried on as usual. On the socio-cultural side, pain is often viewed as a weakness in American culture. Out of a desire to be strong and resilient, I often ignore or tolerate pain. When I injure myself when I am alone, even smaller injuries tend to hurt more and I am