Kevin Pang
PSYC144: Psychobiology and Culture of Pain
Fall 2003
Final Project
Abstract
For my final project, I researched the socioeconomic factors in pain.
Specifically, I looked at how people of lower socioeconomic status perceive,
express, and experience pain. I believe that
socioeconomic status plays a huge role in how people look at, and react to,
pain/illness
in their lives. Unlike racial or cultural associations, socioeconomic status can be
quantitatively measured, allowing us to develop more conclusive results. The
tests we observed in class over the semester focused primarily on the
cultural factors in pain. And while those tests were interesting, they often
had difficulty accounting for discrepencies between a test subject's biological
heritage and their preferred cultural association. Classifying people based
on socioeconomic status removes that influence of personal opinion from the
tests.
In this web site I intend to show how the poor community experiences pain.
I will explain why I believe the poor experience more pain than those higher
up the socioeconomic ladder and why they are reluctant to reveal and obtain
treatment for this pain.
Links
Hypothesis
Paper 1: Socioeconomic Variations in Responses
to Chest Pain
Paper 2: Socioeconomic Status and Back Pain
Disability
Paper 3: The Denial of Chronic Pain
Paper 4: Socioeconomic Status and Health
Conclusions
References
Powerpoint Presentation