The relationship between pain tolerance, some pain coping strategies and locus of control

Markanović, Dragana. (2005). The relationship between pain tolerance, some pain coping strategies and locus of control. Diploma Thesis. Filozofski fakultet u Zagrebu, Department of Psychology. [mentor Jokić-Begić, Nataša].

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Abstract

Many researches have accumulated supporting the notion that locus of control and the way a person copes with his/her pain are associated with experience of pain. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between pain perception, some cognitive pain coping techniques and locus of control. Participants were 49 students with an internal locus of control and 47 students with an external locus of control. The acute pain was induced via cold-pressor procedure. Each participant was tested with cold-pressor pain under three different conditions. The first trial served as a baseline, and in a 2nd and 3rd session subjects were instructed to use two different cognitive strategies for dealing with the pain (distraction and redefinition). There were no significant differences between groups neither on any measure (pain tolerance, duration of painful stimulation estimates, pain intensity ratings), nor in any condition. The use of different cognitive coping strategies significantly increased pain tolerance in both groups, as compared with uninstructed control condition. Results showed that the use of both distraction and redefiniton similarly increased pain tolerance. It was also found that both groups were drastically underestimated the actual duration of aversive stimulation. The discussion focuses on the importance of the "mental attitude" aside from any specific pain coping technique, and emphasizes the role of expectancy in pain perception.

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