Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Determining Pain Detection and Tolerance Thresholds Using an Integrated, Multi-Modal Pain Task Battery
Published on: April 14, 2016
Goals for coping with pain mitigate time distortion
1Department of Psychology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa 35487-0348.
Abstract:
The cold pressor test was used to investigate the effect of specific versus nonspecific time-oriented goals on perception of time by a person experiencing pain. Headache pain has been shown to attenuate the retrospective estimates of time passage. In the present study, laboratory-induced (cold pressor) pain produced results congruent with those of a previous clinical report on headache. In addition, results indicated that giving a specific time goal for coping with pain minimized the time distortion. Time estimations of subjects in pain with a specified goal were found to be significantly longer (and more accurate) than time estimations of subjects who were in pain but not given a time-specific goal.
Related Concept Videos
Nociception
Analgesia and Pain Management
Opioid Analgesics: Synthetic and Semisynthetic Opioids
Pain
Coping Strategies: Problem Focused
For example, consider a student who struggles to understand their...
Coping Strategies: Emotion Focused

