Kai Karos
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1
Total Citations
63
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1
About
Kai Karos is a leading researcher in the psychology of pain, whose work bridges experimental psychopathology and clinical science to understand how fear shapes human movement and suffering. His primary research areas include pain-related fear, avoidance behaviour, and the cognitive-affective mechanisms underlying chronic pain. Karos is best known for his seminal 2017 paper, "Fear of pain changes movement: Motor behaviour following the acquisition of pain‐related fear," which has garnered 63 citations and provided critical experimental evidence that fear of pain directly alters motor behaviour—a cornerstone of modern fear-avoidance models. This work demonstrated that the mere anticipation of pain can lead to protective yet maladaptive movement patterns, offering a mechanistic link between psychological fear and physical disability. Beyond this, Karos has contributed to understanding how social and contextual factors amplify pain-related fear, and his research has been instrumental in translating basic science into clinical interventions for chronic pain. With a growing citation impact, his work is widely referenced by both experimental psychologists and rehabilitation scientists, making him a key voice in the movement to integrate behavioural science into pain management.
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