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Last updated: Tue, Aug 13, 2024
We tend to do what is rewarding to us, and not to do what is punishing to us. That is essentially the behavioralist's definition of reward and punishment. This theory points to the putative rewards of illness and maintains that these rewards can extend or amplify an illness. In a chronic condition, the opportunity for such a process to operate is extended. The rewards of illness that are pointed out include such things as:
This theory and its variants have an important place in the medical treatment of pain today. They are discussed at Secondary Gain.