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Abstract
Self-report and observational measures of pain are examined from the perspective of
a model of human communication. This model examines the experience of pain as affected
by intrapersonal and contextual factors, the process whereby it is encoded into expressive
behaviour, and the process of decoding by observers prior to their engaging in action.
Self-report measures primarily capture expressive pain behaviour that is under the
control of higher mental processes, whereas observational measures capture behaviour
that is less subject to voluntary control and more automatic. Automatic expressive
behaviours are subject to less purposeful distortion than are behaviours dependent
upon higher mental processes. Consequently, observational measures can be used and
have clinical utility as indices of pain when self-report is not available, for example,
in infants, young children, people with intellectual disabilities or brain damage,
and seniors with dementia. These measures are also useful when the credibility of
self-report is questioned and even when credible self-report is available. However,
automatic behaviours may be more difficult for observers to decode. The model outlined
herein takes into account the role of various human developmental stages in pain experience
and expression and in understanding the utility of self-report and observational measures.
We conclude that both observational and self-report measures are essential in the
assessment of pain because of the unique information that each type contributes.