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Interaction of intensity and order regarding painful events

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Abstract

While stimulus intensity obviously affects degree of pain responding, presentation order effects of stimuli of different intensities on acute pain responses are under-researched. The present study examined the effects of manipulating presentation order of lower and higher pain stimulus intensity. Using 96 undergraduates, this investigation employed a 2 × 2 mixed research design, with pain stimulus sequence as a between-subjects variable and pain stimulus trial as a repeated measure. When the greater pain stimulus intensity was presented last, verbal report of pain was higher. Also, performance of a cognitive task was interrupted the least when the lower stimulus intensity was presented last. Heart rate, however, was highest when the greater stimulus intensity was presented first, and pain tolerance was greatest when the lower stimulus intensity was presented first. Results are discussed in relation to adaptation-level effects, and implications for pain experienced in clinical settings are suggested.

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Notes

  1. The primary interest of the study was differences when experiencing different sequences of stimulus intensity (not differences from baseline); t-tests revealed participants in the two sequence groups did not differ on baseline measures, and the results of the planned 2 × 2 ANOVA tests are presented for clarity and simplicity. It should be noted, though, that with analyses including baseline values as another repeated measure time point or as a covariate, a similar pattern of results emerged.

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Acknowledgments

This paper is based on a master’s thesis by the first author, supervised by the second author. This research was presented at the 2007 meeting of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Philadelphia, PA. This study was conducted in the Anxiety, Psychophysiology, and Pain Research Laboratory in the Department of Psychology at West Virginia University.

The authors thank the following research assistants in that laboratory for their assistance in data collection: Andrea Ramsey, Kevin Mealy, Danielle Hamer, and Vanesah Noechel. This research was made possible through funding from the West Virginia University Department of Psychology Alumni Fund.

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  1. Department of Psychology, West Virginia University, 53 Campus Drive, P. O. Box 6040, Morgantown, WV, 26506-6040, USA

    Brandon N. Kyle, Daniel W. McNeil, Benjamin J. Weinstein & James D. Mark

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  1. Brandon N. Kyle
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Correspondence to Daniel W. McNeil.

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Kyle, B.N., McNeil, D.W., Weinstein, B.J. et al. Interaction of intensity and order regarding painful events. J Behav Med 32, 360–370 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-009-9210-y

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