Do people's pain thresholds change depending on whether or not the pain is perceived as voluntary or not? According to Zimbardo's 1969 study of electric shocks, yes, those who thought they had a choice in the matter reported feeling less pain than those who felt they had less choice. Because of the cognitive dissonance that is created in feeling that they have little external justification for allowing themselves to feel this pain, people turn inward to change their attitudes about the pain. In finding a way to justify the pain they feel that they themselves have allowed to happen, they convince themselves the pain isn't that bad, and their bodies actually believe them. They actually have less galvanic skin conductance than those who believe they have little or no choice in receiving the pain.
From an early age, I have hated getting boosters and other types of shots. I would scream and cry no matter what type of needle I was going to be pricked with, and though the screaming and crying has ceased, I still have a panic attack when I get blood drawn or get an IV. I feel that these things are not really voluntary, as I need them to be well. Therefore, when I'm in a situation in which I need to be stuck with a needle it feels like it hurts immensely. According to Zimbardo et al. this perceived pain is due to the fact that I blame the pain on the external factor that it is medically necessary.
On the other hand, I have three tattoos, including two on my feet, and also have had my lip and navel pierced. While I'll admit that both the tattoos on my feet, and the lip piercing hurt, the other two (the navel and the other tattoo) were very minor in the pain scale. Surprisingly, I did not panic when I got any of these things done. I was very willing in my decision to have these things done. All of these things hurt far worse than getting blood drawn or getting an IV, but they caused me much less physical stress. This is because in knowing that there were no external factors to blame, I had made this choice on my own knowing they would hurt, I actually convinced myself and my body that the pain was not so bad. If tattoos were a medically necessary procedure I think myself and many others would probably pass out during the process. But when tattoos are a choice, such as they were for me, I found myself even watching the needle while it was pricking me (which I wouldn't dream of doing during a blood draw).
References:
Zimbardo, P. (1969) The cognitive control of motivation. Glenview, Ill; Scott Foresman.
Zimbardo, P. , Ebbeson, E. & Maslach, C. (1977) Influencing attitudes and changing behavior (2nd ed.). Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley.
1 comment:
I'm like you. I absolutely hate getting shots. Also my mom "had" me get my ears pierced at an early age, and I remember it hurting much worse than when I decided to get a second piercing all on my own when I was older. Also when you pick something that you know is going to be painful, you kinda take pride in that pain. Like while your exercising on your own, it's "burns so good", but when you're running a mile for gym it's "burns so bad". I think it ties into the "when good choices get even better" idea because you downplay the negatives and focus on the positives.
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