Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Quantifying Pain Location and Intensity with Multimodal Pain Body Diagrams
Published on: July 7, 2023
The price of pain and the value of suffering
Ivo Vlaev1, Ben Seymour, Raymond J Dolan
1Department of Psychology, University College London, London, WC1H 0AP, United Kingdom. i.vlaev@ucl.ac.uk
Abstract:
Estimating the financial value of pain informs issues as diverse as the market price of analgesics, the cost-effectiveness of clinical treatments, compensation for injury, and the response to public hazards. Such valuations are assumed to reflect a stable trade-off between relief of discomfort and money. Here, using an auction-based health-market experiment, we show that the price people pay for relief of pain is strongly determined by the local context of the market, that is, by recent intensities of pain or immediately disposable income (but not overall wealth). The absence of a stable valuation metric suggests that the dynamic behavior of health markets is not predictable from the static behavior of individuals. We conclude that the results follow the dynamics of habit-formation models of economic theory, and thus, this study provides the first scientific basis for this type of preference modeling.
Related Concept Videos
Blood and Nerve Supply to the Bones
Nutrient Artery
The nutrient artery is the main blood vessel that enters the diaphysis via the nutrient foramen. While most long bones have only one nutrient foramen, large bones, such as the femur, may have two. This...
Pain
Analgesia and Pain Management
Social Exchange Theory
Social Exchange Theory
Kubler Ross's Stages of Dying
In denial, individuals reject the reality of their condition, often thinking, "This isn't true; I feel fine," as a way to protect themselves from emotional distress. Anger...

