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Determining heat and mechanical pain threshold in inflamed skin of human subjects
Published on: January 14, 2009
Mildly negative social encounters reduce physical pain sensitivity
Terry K Borsook1, Geoff MacDonald
1Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, 100 St. George Street, 4th Floor, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 3G3.
Pain
|August 31, 2010
Summary
Mildly negative social interactions can reduce pain perception, suggesting social hypoalgesia is common. Positive interactions did not affect pain sensitivity in this study.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Social Psychology
Background:
- Previous studies linked social exclusion to reduced pain sensitivity.
- Prior experimental manipulations were often dissimilar to everyday social experiences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine how common social interactions influence pain perception.
- To investigate the analgesic effects of mild social negativity.
Main Methods:
- Healthy participants rated pain before and after social interactions.
- Interactions involved a confederate instructed to be warm/friendly or indifferent.
- A control group performed a similar activity alone.
Main Results:
- Mildly negative social encounters led to lower pain intensity and unpleasantness.
- Positive social interactions did not alter pain ratings.
- Mood and perceived connectedness did not mediate these effects.
Conclusions:
- Ordinary negative social experiences may induce hypoalgesia (reduced pain sensitivity).
- Social hypoalgesia might be more prevalent than previously understood.
- Findings have implications for clinical pain assessment and understanding stress-induced hypoalgesia.
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