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Effect of Manipulated State Aggression on Pain Tolerance
Abstract
Swearing produces a pain lessening (hypoalgesic) effect for many people; an emotional response may be the underlying mechanism. In this paper, the role of manipulated state aggression on pain tolerance and pain perception is assessed. In a repeated-measures design, pain outcomes were assessed in participants asked to play for 10 minutes a first-person shooter video game vs a golf video game. Sex differences were explored. After playing the first-person shooter video game, aggressive cognitions, aggressive affect, heart rate, and cold pressor latency were increased, and pain perception was decreased. These data indicate that people become more pain tolerant with raised state aggression and support our theory that raised pain tolerance from swearing occurs via an emotional response.
... The authors attributed their findings to the desensitizing effect to pain in oneself and in others [21]. Stephens and Allsop [22] found that playing a VVG not only increased aggressive feelings and arousal (as indicated by heart rate), but also pain tolerance. Compared to a golf video game (i.e., the non-violent game), participants that had played a first-person shooter game found ice-cold water less painful (i.e., increased pain tolerance), as indicated by the longer time they held their hand in ice-cold water. ...
... Compared to a golf video game (i.e., the non-violent game), participants that had played a first-person shooter game found ice-cold water less painful (i.e., increased pain tolerance), as indicated by the longer time they held their hand in ice-cold water. The authors attribute this finding to the hypoalgesic effect of the emotional response that accompanies raised state aggression [22]. ...
... Playing a VG can indeed lead to a decrease in pain perception [21,22,46,47]. It is possible that the assumed distractive, hypoalgesic effects of playing VG is independent of violent content. ...
In contrast to findings that violent video game (VVG) exposure has a desensitizing effect on empathy and physiological reactivity to scenes of violence [1], no desensitization was found for player responses to pain stimuli in three lab experiments. Compared to a non-violent game, VVG exposure neither affected physiological responses, nor participants' self-reports of perceived pain caused by thermal stress. In addition, the level of game immersion did not affect pain perception, pain tolerance, or aggressive behavior (study 3). In contrast, violent game preference was associated with lower reports of perceived proximal pain, distal pain, and greater antisocial behavior. However, all studies confirmed the detrimental effect of VVG on emotion: participants reported lower positive and greater negative affect after playing the violent compared to the nonviolent game. In sum, the present findings speak against a generalized desen-sitization effect of VVG on the player. Rather, our findings further support the notion of pain and pain-related responses as complex and multidimensional, modulated by individual , physiological, and contextual factors [2].
... The authors attributed their findings to the desensitizing effect to pain in oneself and in others [21]. Stephens and Allsop [22] found that playing a VVG not only increased aggressive feelings and arousal (as indicated by heart rate), but also pain tolerance. Compared to a golf video game (i.e., the non-violent game), participants that had played a first-person shooter game found ice-cold water less painful (i.e., increased pain tolerance), as indicated by the longer time they held their hand in ice-cold water. ...
... Compared to a golf video game (i.e., the non-violent game), participants that had played a first-person shooter game found ice-cold water less painful (i.e., increased pain tolerance), as indicated by the longer time they held their hand in ice-cold water. The authors attribute this finding to the hypoalgesic effect of the emotional response that accompanies raised state aggression [22]. ...
... Playing a VG can indeed lead to a decrease in pain perception [21,22,46,47]. It is possible that the assumed distractive, hypoalgesic effects of playing VG is independent of violent content. ...
In contrast to findings that violent video game (VVG) exposure has a desensitizing effect on empathy and physiological reactivity to scenes of violence [1], no desensitization was found for player responses to pain stimuli in three lab experiments. Compared to a non-violent game, VVG exposure neither affected physiological responses, nor participants’ self-reports of perceived pain caused by thermal stress. In addition, the level of game immersion did not affect pain perception, pain tolerance, or aggressive behavior (study 3). In contrast, violent game preference was associated with lower reports of perceived proximal pain, distal pain, and greater antisocial behavior. However, all studies confirmed the detrimental effect of VVG on emotion: participants reported lower positive and greater negative affect after playing the violent compared to the nonviolent game. In sum, the present findings speak against a generalized desensitization effect of VVG on the player. Rather, our findings further support the notion of pain and pain-related responses as complex and multidimensional, modulated by individual, physiological, and contextual factors [2]. KeywordsViolent video gamesDesensitizationPainPain perceptionMood
... Consistent with this theory, several studies have shown that swearing provokes an autonomic response, assessed via increased heart rate (Stephens et al., 2009;Stephens and Umland, 2011) and increased skin conductance (LaBar and Phelps, 1998;Bowers and Pleydell-Pearce, 2011). It is the emotion-provoking aspect of swearing that is thought to underlie this increase in autonomic arousal (Stephens and Allsop, 2012). ...
... The sample size was guided by a power calculation based on previous research on the hypoalgesic effects of swearing that yielded medium to large effect sizes (dz range: 0.62-1.12; Stephens et al., 2009;Stephens and Umland, 2011;Stephens and Allsop, 2012). Based on a conservatively estimated small to medium effect size of dz = 0.30, we calculated that 90 participants would be required for a within-subjects comparison of an experimental word versus a control word, with alpha set at 0.05 and power set at 80%. ...
... While offering no evidential support for a mediation effect, further study assessing mediation of hypoalgesic effects of swearing via emotional arousal, in the absence of changes in heart rate, might fruitfully demonstrate this as a viable mechanism. Such an effect would be in keeping with previous research finding pain relieving effects of emotional arousal (Stephens and Allsop, 2012). ...
Previous research showing that swearing alleviates pain is extended by addressing emotion arousal and distraction as possible mechanisms. We assessed the effects of a conventional swear word (“fuck”) and two new “swear” words identified as both emotion-arousing and distracting: “fouch” and “twizpipe.” A mixed sex group of participants (N = 92) completed a repeated measures experimental design augmented by mediation analysis. The independent variable was repeating one of four different words: “fuck” vs. “fouch” vs. “twizpipe” vs. a neutral word. The dependent variables were emotion rating, humor rating, distraction rating, cold pressor pain threshold, cold pressor pain tolerance, pain perception score, and change from resting heart rate. Mediation analyses were conducted for emotion, humor, and distraction ratings. For conventional swearing (“fuck”), confirmatory analyses found a 32% increase in pain threshold and a 33% increase in pain tolerance, accompanied by increased ratings for emotion, humor, and distraction, relative to the neutral word condition. The new “swear” words, “fouch” and “twizpipe,” were rated as more emotional and humorous than the neutral word but did not affect pain threshold or tolerance. Changes in heart rate and pain perception were absent. Our data replicate previous findings that repeating a swear word at a steady pace and volume benefits pain tolerance, extending this finding to pain threshold. Mediation analyses did not identify a pathway via which such effects manifest. Distraction appears to be of little importance but emotion arousal is worthy of future study.
... Research has shown that the act of repeating a swearword can elicit an increase in pain tolerance when compared with repeating a non-swear word [1][2][3]. The hypoalgesic effect has been explained as being mediated by the sympathetic nervous system triggered by swearing [3]. ...
... Research has shown that the act of repeating a swearword can elicit an increase in pain tolerance when compared with repeating a non-swear word [1][2][3]. The hypoalgesic effect has been explained as being mediated by the sympathetic nervous system triggered by swearing [3]. ...
... This is because in the current study both the swearwords and the alternative words are likely to have induced the same muscle movements. Rather, as swearword production is associated with greater autonomic arousal than non-swearword production [28], the hypoalgesic effect is posited to occur through swearword activated mediation of the sympathetic nervous system [1][2][3]. ...
Background: This pre-registered study extends previous findings that swearing alleviates pain tolerance by assessing the effects of a conventional swear word (“fuck”) and two new “swear” words, “fouch” and “twizpipe”.Method: A mixed sex group of participants (N = 92) completed a repeated measures experimental design augmented by mediation analysis. The independent variable was Word with the levels, “fuck” v. “fouch” v. “twizpipe” v. a neutral word. The dependent variables were emotion rating, humour rating, distraction rating, cold pressor pain threshold, cold pressor pain tolerance, pain perception score and change from resting heart rate. Possible mediation effects were assessed for emotion, humour and distraction ratings. Results: For conventional swearing (“fuck”), confirmatory analyses found a 32% increase in pain threshold and a 33% increase in pain tolerance, accompanied by increased ratings for emotion, humour and distraction, relative to the neutral word condition. The new “swear” words, “fouch” and “twizpipe” were rated higher than the neutral word for emotion and humour although these words did not affect pain threshold or tolerance. Changes in heart rate, pain perception and were absent, as were mediation effects.Conclusions: Our data replicate previous findings that repeating a swear word at a steady pace and volume benefits pain tolerance, extending this finding to pain threshold. Our data cannot explain how such effects are manifest, although distraction appears to be of little importance, and emotion is worthy of future study. The new “swear” words did not alleviate pain even though participants rated them as emotion evoking and humorous.
... Research has shown that the act of repeating a swearword can elicit an increase in pain tolerance when compared with repeating a non-swear word [1][2][3]. The hypoalgesic effect has been explained as being mediated by the sympathetic nervous system triggered by swearing [3]. ...
... Research has shown that the act of repeating a swearword can elicit an increase in pain tolerance when compared with repeating a non-swear word [1][2][3]. The hypoalgesic effect has been explained as being mediated by the sympathetic nervous system triggered by swearing [3]. ...
... This is because in the current study both the swearwords and the alternative words are likely to have induced the same muscle movements. Rather, as swearword production is associated with greater autonomic arousal than non-swearword production [28], the hypoalgesic effect is posited to occur through swearword activated mediation of the sympathetic nervous system [1][2][3]. ...
Background and aims:
Research suggests swearing can moderate pain perception. The present study assessed whether changes in pain perception due to swearing reflect a "scripting" effect by comparing swearing as a response to pain in native English and Japanese speakers. Cognitive psychology denotes a 'script' to be a sequence of learnt behaviours expected for given situations. Japanese participants were included as they rarely, if ever, swear as a response to pain and therefore do not possess an available script for swearing in the context of pain. It was hypothesised that Japanese participants would demonstrate less tolerance and more sensitivity to pain than English participants, and - due to a lack of an available script of swearing in response to pain - that Japanese participants would not experience swearword mediated hypoalgesia.
Methods:
Fifty-six native English (mean age=23 years) and 39 Japanese (mean age=21) speakers completed a cold-pressor task whilst repeating either a swear on control word. A 2 (culture; Japanese, British)×2 (word; swear; non-swear) design explored whether Japanese participants showed the same increase in pain tolerance and experienced similar levels of perceived pain when a swearing intervention was used as British participants. Pain tolerance was assessed by the number of seconds participants could endure of cold-pressor exposure and self-report pain measurements. Levels of perceived pain were assessed using a 120-mm horizontal visual analogue scale anchored by descriptors in the participant's native language of "no pain" (left) and "terrible pain" (right). The participant was asked to mark a 10mm vertical line to indicate overall pain intensity. The score was measured from the zero anchor to the participant's mark.
Results:
Japanese participants reported higher levels of pain (p<0.005) and displayed lower pain tolerance than British participants (p<0.05). Pain tolerance increased in swearers regardless of cultural background (p<0.001) and no interaction was found between word group and culture (p=0.96), thereby suggesting that swearing had no differential effect related to the cultural group of the participant.
Conclusions:
The results replicate previous findings that swearing increases pain tolerance and that individuals from an Asian ethnic background experience greater levels of perceived pain than those from a Caucasian ethnic background. However, these results do not support the idea of pain perception modification due to a "scripting" effect. This is evidenced as swearword mediated hypoalgesia occurs irrespective of participant cultural background. Rather, it is suggested that modulation of pain perception may occur through activation of descending inhibitory neural pain mechanisms.
Implications:
As swearing can increase pain tolerance in both Japanese and British people, it may be suggested that swearword mediated hypoalgesia is a universal phenomenon that transcends socio-cultural learnt behaviours. Furthermore, swearing could be encouraged as an intervention to help people cope with acute painful stimuli.
... Experiment 2 comprised a within-subjects comparison of the effect of manipulated emotional arousal on swearing fluency. In order to manipulate emotional arousal, participants' state aggression was raised using the previously validated method of playing a first-person shooter (FPS) video game (Stephens and Allsop 2012). This game required the exploration of a virtual three-dimensional environment while continuously exchanging weapon fire with a variety of hostile characters. ...
... The Tiger Woods PGA tour 2007 golf video game (Games 2006) was employed as a control condition. Game play and conditions were identical to those reported previously (Stephens and Allsop 2012). ...
... We required two alternate forms of the State Hostility Questionnaire; one to be applied after each of the video games to assess whether heightened emotional arousal had successfully been induced. Therefore, replicating a previous study in our laboratory, we removed those 3 items and divided the remaining items into two 16-item questionnaire forms, the scores on which could range from 16 to 80. Acceptable levels of reliability (Cronbach's alpha > 0.9) for these two forms has previously been demonstrated (Stephens and Allsop 2012). ...
This study assessed the effect of experimentally manipulated emotional arousal on swearing fluency. We hypothesised that swear word generation would be increased with raised emotional arousal. The emotional arousal of 60 participants was manipulated by having them play a first-person shooter video game or, as a control, a golf video game, in a randomised order. A behavioural measure of swearing fluency based on the Controlled Oral Word Association Test was employed. Successful experimental manipulation was indicated by raised State Hostility Questionnaire scores after playing the shooter game. Swearing fluency was significantly greater after playing the shooter game compared with the golf game. Validity of the swearing fluency task was demonstrated via positive correlations with self-reported swearing fluency and daily swearing frequency. In certain instances swearing may represent a form of emotional expression. This finding will inform debates around the acceptability of using taboo language.
... Swearing is known to be a response to -and a mediator of -emotions [8], as are other forms of language that are prima facie abusive or insulting [1,3,7]. In workplaces in the UK and New Zealand, for example, "jocular abuse" is part of team bonding. ...
... This window of time can roughly be considered as mid-season: fans have had around 15 league games to assess their team's performance this season, but with over 20 games still to play, there is still plenty to play for. This is the time of year that matches begin to be referred to as "real six-pointers" 8 . ...
The sentiments expressed by football fans in the stories that they tell are often intensified by the use of swear words. Football provides a useful test bed for sentiment analysis due to the symmetric nature of events in matches: what is good for one team is bad for the other. We can relate social media messages to the narrative that fans of a given team might be expected to construct. We use these features of football-related tweets to investigate some common assumptions about swearing as a sen- timent marker on social networks. The results demonstrate that swearing and other senti- ment markers depend heavily on context, and that understanding this context is essential if sentiment is to be detected faithfully. We also show that swearing is not always indicative of negative sentiment.
... According to some expert opinion, females experience negative emotions like pain-related fear [12,13,14], pain-related anxiety [21,23] and depression more often than males. These emotions play a significant role in determining sexual differences in pain perception. ...
... 2) Anestesia virtual: es un método que demuestra disminuir la terapia farmacológica al reducir el dolor que se asocia a intervenciones médicas y quirúrgicas, proporcionando a los pacientes hospitalizados una distracción a través de una unidad móvil de videojuegos o de sistemas de realidad virtual. (Stephens & Allsop, 2012). 3) Fun centers: áreas únicas en los hospitales que fomentar el uso de videojuegos como complemento terapéutico. ...
RESUMEN. En este artículo se pretende desarrollar una metodología de actuación pedagógica basada en el uso de videojuegos dentro del contexto hospitalario. Concretamente en las aulas hospitalarias de Extremadura, puesto que disponen de consolas pero carecen de estrategias de uso de los videojuegos como herramienta pedagógica. La premisa de esta metodología será incidir en el plano emocional para establecer contextos emocionales positivos que fomenten el aprendizaje a través del juego. Se pretende hacer que los niños y niñas hospitalizados que acceden al aula hospitalaria dejan un lado el ambiente hospitalario y la enfermedad que allí los ubica, a través del uso de videojuegos que fomenten la cooperación, la motivación y la interacción social a través del uso de videojuegos, sirviendo éstos como complemento al currículum ordinario. La metodología que se ha creado conjuga la importancia de las emociones y el juego para crear ambientes equilibradores entre el bienestar físico y el bienestar emocional, así como el tratamiento de contenidos curriculares basados en el uso de videojuegos, la premisa es aprender mientras juegas.
ABSTRACT. In this paper has been developed an methodology of educational performance based on the use of video games within the hospital setting. Specifically in Extremadura´s hospital classrooms, since they do not have strategies for using video games as a teaching tool. The premise of this methodology will affect the emotional level to establish positive emotional contexts that encourage learning through play. It is intended to make the hospitalized children entering the hospital school leaving aside the hospital environment and disease that places them there, through the use of videogames foments cooperation, motivation and social interaction through the use of video games, they serve as a complement to the regular curriculum. The methodology was created combining the importance of emotions and balancing the game to create environments between physical and emotional well-being
... Another group of studies-usually more concerned with stimulus evaluation and decision making-investigates autonomic functions and aggressiveness in parallel, but the latter is either symbolic as in the case of violent video games (Ivarsson et al., 2009;Stephens and Allsop, 2012), or mild as in the case of the Taylor Aggression Paradigm, where mild punishments (e.g., air blasts) are delivered to non-visible, fictional opponents (Verona and Sullivan, 2008;Ward et al., 2008). Similarly mild procedures are employed when the interactions between aggression promoting factors and autonomic functions is studied. ...
Among the multitude of factors that can transform human social interactions into violent conflicts, biological features received much attention in recent years as correlates of decision making and aggressiveness especially in critical situations. We present here a highly realistic new model of human aggression and violence, where genuine acts of aggression are readily performed and which at the same time allows the parallel recording of biological concomitants. Particularly, we studied police officers trained at the International Training Centre (Budapest, Hungary), who are prepared to perform operations under extreme conditions of stress. We found that aggressive arousal can transform a basically peaceful social encounter into a violent conflict. Autonomic recordings show that this change is accompanied by increased heart rates, which was associated earlier with reduced cognitive complexity of perceptions ("attentional myopia") and promotes a bias toward hostile attributions and aggression. We also observed reduced heart rate variability in violent subjects, which is believed to signal a poor functioning of prefrontal-subcortical inhibitory circuits and reduces self-control. Importantly, these autonomic particularities were observed already at the beginning of social encounters i.e., before aggressive acts were initiated, suggesting that individual characteristics of the stress-response define the way in which social pressure affects social behavior, particularly the way in which this develops into violence. Taken together, these findings suggest that cardiac autonomic functions are valuable external symptoms of internal motivational states and decision making processes, and raise the possibility that behavior under social pressure can be predicted by the individual characteristics of stress responsiveness.
Little data exists on vocalization during birth. What research does exist supports the notion that vocalizing can be a useful tool to birthing people. Similar to many childbirth courses, theatre-based voice training includes a strong focus on physical release and ease to function as a fruitful foundation for easy vocalization. Additionally, this type of training places specific focus on the use of sound and cultivates the ability to use the voice freely and without inhibition. This study hypothesized that using theatre-based voice techniques during childbirth would reduce the perception of pain during labor and improve women’s sense of autonomy during the experience. To explore this hypothesis, two groups of pregnant people were taught theatre-based voice exercises and researchers collected data on their experiences after their births. Broadly, this study suggests that theatre and voice-based experiences have the potential to improve women’s overall satisfaction with their birth experience and presents an important, cross-disciplinary application to voice work.
Swearing has been shown to reduce the experience of pain in a cold pressor task, and the effect has been suggested to be due to state aggression. In the present experiment, we examined whether producing a taboo gesture (i.e., the American gesture of raising the middle finger) reduces the experience of pain similar to the effect that has been shown for producing a taboo word. 111 participants completed two cold pressor trials in a 2 (Language vs. Gesture) × 2 (Taboo vs. Neutral) mixed design. We found that producing a taboo act in either language or gesture increased pain tolerance on the cold pressor task and reduced the experience of perceived pain compared to producing a neutral act. We found no changes in state aggression or heart rate. These results suggest that the pain-reducing effect of swearing is shared by taboo gesture and that these effects are likely not due to changes in state aggression.
While transdiagnostic factors are important domains in clinical assessment and treatment, there is little research to link such constructs to widely accepted and utilized broadband assessments such as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, 2nd edition – Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF). A handful of studies suggest the ability of the MMPI-2-RF scales to capture variance in transdiagnostic constructs; however, this literature relies solely on self-report criterion measures, despite evidence that self-report and behaviorally-indexed correlates of psychopathology may measure varied aspects of the intended construct and can often yield differing results. The current study investigated MMPI-2-RF scales’ ability to assess two widely examined transdiagnostic constructs, distress tolerance and pain perception, across both self-report and behavioral indicators. The sample included 115 undergraduate students who completed a valid MMPI-2-RF and multimethod measures of pain perception and distress tolerance. The results aligned with prior research in areas of internalizing symptoms, psychopathy, and suicide risk factors in self-report, but not behaviorally-based, assessment. Implications of this inconsistency, the association between clinical assessment and transdiagnostic constructs, and the heterogeneity of the distress tolerance and pain perception constructs are discussed.
The purpose of given study was to elucidate the relationship among heat, cold, mechanical pain sensation degrees and MOR level in almost healthy males and females - both if follicular and luteal phases of the OMC; also, to investigate gender-related correlation between all above parameters and some hostility indices. The study revealed differences in MOR level according to gender and phases of the OMC - insignificantly higher MOR level in luteal phase of the OMC compared with follicular in females, results of males are significantly lower compared of females in both phases. As gender-related so phase-dependent differences of MOR level negatively correlate with pain sensation indices: heat, cold and mechanical pain thresholds, mechanical pain tolerance. Significantly higher assault, indirect hostility, verbal hostility and lower guilt degree were detected in males compared with females. Males revealed positive correlation of pain sensation indices and MOR level with assault, indirect hostility, verbal hostility degrees; negative correlation - with guilt, irritability, resentment and suspicion degrees. Females didn't reveal relationship between hostility indices and any form of pain sensation as well as MOR level. We also didn't find gender-related differences regarding irritability, resentment, suspicion and negativism degrees, as well as mechanical, heal and cold sensation thresholds.
The purpose of this study was to elucidate the relationship between thermal and mechanical sensation, as well as pain thresholds degrees and the dynamics of the TRPV1 level in almost healthy young males and females in the follicular and luteal phases of the OMC. We found gender differences for some pain sensation indices, taking into account OMC phases of females. Mechanical pain tolerance and heat pain thresholds were significantly higher in males compared with females in both phases of the OMC, also, mechanical pain, mechanical pressure, cold pain and heat sensation thresholds were insignificantly higher in males compared with females in follicular phase of the OMC and significantly higher - in luteal phase of the OMC. We haven't found any differences in cold sensation threshold between males and females in both phases of OMC. Moreover, we found significant gender and interphase differences in receptor protein TRPV1 level - the maximal level in females in luteal phase of the OMC, lower in males and minimal in females in follicular phase of the OMC.
Liverpool FC manager Bill Shankly once said, 'Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.' The same could be said for swearing and taboo language, as this article explains. Swearing is a relatively new focus for psychology research but an apt one. From swearing in pain to swearing in foreign tongues, and several points in between, a number of investigators have begun to rise to the challenge of striving to understand the emotional power undoubtedly contained within some of the shortest of utterances in the lexicon. Here, then, is a brief introduction.
Vocalizing is a ubiquitous pain behavior. Here we investigated whether it helps alleviate pain and sought to discern potential underlying mechanisms. Participants were asked to immerse one hand into painfully cold water. On separate trials, they said "ow", heard a recording of them saying "ow", heard a recording of another person saying "ow", pressed a button, or sat passively. Compared to sitting passively, saying "ow" increased the duration of hand immersion. Although on average, participants predicted this effect, their expectations were uncorrelated with pain tolerance. Like vocalizing, button pressing increased the duration of hand immersion and this increase was positively correlated with the vocalizing effect. Hearing one's own or another person's "ow" were not analgesic. Together, these results provide first evidence that vocalizing helps individuals cope with pain. Moreover, they suggest that motor more than other processes contribute to this effect.
Participants immersed their hand into painfully cold water longer when saying "ow" than when doing nothing. Whereas button-pressing had a similar effect, hearing one's own or another person's "ow" did not. Thus, vocalizing in pain is not only communicative. Like other behaviors, it helps cope with pain.
Copyright © 2015 American Pain Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
A general model of affective aggression was used to generate predictions concerning hot temperatures.Experiment 1 examined hot temperatureeffectson hostileaffect, hostilecognition,perceived arousal, and physiological arousal in the context of a study of video games. Experiment 2 examined hot temperature effects on hostile affect, perceived and physiological arousal, and general positive and negative affect in the context of briefaerobicexercise. Consistent results were obtained. Hot temperatures produced increases in hostile affect, hostile cognition, and physiological arousal. Hot temperatures also produced decreasesin perceived arousal and generalpositive affect. These results suggest that hot temperatures may increase aggressive tendencies via any of three separate routes. Hostile affect, hostile cognitions, and excitation transfer processes may all increase the likelihood of biased ap- praisals of ambiguous social events, biased in a hostile direction. Social theories relating heat stress to aggressive behav- ior and aggression-related affects can be found in writ- ings as ancient as those of the Rome of Cicero (106-43 B.C.) and as recent as last summer's newspapers. Refer- ences to hot temperatures producing aggression can be found in works as hallowed as Shakespeare's Romeoand Juliet and as obscure as a 1985 Ohio State student news- paper cartoon. If consensus were truth, then scientific investigation of the hypothesis that temperature influ- ences aggression would be unnecessary.
In Study I, the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) was administered to 425 undergraduates. Analyses yielded a three component solution comprising (a) rumination, (b) magnification, and (c) helplessness. In Study 2, 30 undergraduate participants were classified as catastrophizers (
n = 15) or noncatastrophizers (
n = 15) on the basis of their PCS scores and participated in a cold pressor procedure. Catastrophizers reported significantly more negative pain-related thoughts, greater emotional distress, and greater pain intensity than noncatastrophizers. Study 3 examined the relation between PCS scores, negative pain-related thoughts, and distress in 28 individuals undergoing an aversive electrodiagnostic medical procedure. Catastrophizers reported more negative pain-related thoughts, more emotional distress, and more pain than noncatastrophizers. Study 4 examined the relation between the PCS and measures of depression, trait anxiety, negative affectivity, and fear of pain. Analyses revealed moderate correlations among these measures, but only the PCS contributed significant unique variance to the prediction of pain intensity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The present chapter provides an overview of the physiology of the cardiovascular system and its central and peripheral autonomic and neuroendocrine controls. It then discusses common psychophysiological measures from the methodological, analytic, and interpretative perspectives. Finally, it highlights a few current issues and themes in the contemporary literature. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Meta-analytic procedures were used to test the effects of violent video games on aggressive behavior, aggressive cognition, aggressive affect, physiological arousal, empathy/desensitization, and prosocial behavior. Unique features of this meta-analytic review include (a) more restrictive methodological quality inclusion criteria than in past meta-analyses; (b) cross-cultural comparisons; (c) longitudinal studies for all outcomes except physiological arousal; (d) conservative statistical controls; (e) multiple moderator analyses; and (f) sensitivity analyses. Social-cognitive models and cultural differences between Japan and Western countries were used to generate theory-based predictions. Meta-analyses yielded significant effects for all 6 outcome variables. The pattern of results for different outcomes and research designs (experimental, cross-sectional, longitudinal) fit theoretical predictions well. The evidence strongly suggests that exposure to violent video games is a causal risk factor for increased aggressive behavior, aggressive cognition, and aggressive affect and for decreased empathy and prosocial behavior. Moderator analyses revealed significant research design effects, weak evidence of cultural differences in susceptibility and type of measurement effects, and no evidence of sex differences in susceptibility. Results of various sensitivity analyses revealed these effects to be robust, with little evidence of selection (publication) bias.
Five experiments examined effects of songs with violent lyrics on aggressive thoughts and hostile feelings. Experiments 1, 3, 4 and 5 demonstrated that college students who heard a violent song felt more hostile than those who heard a similar but nonviolent song. Experiments 2-5 demonstrated a similar increase in aggressive thoughts. These effects replicated across songs and song types (e.g., rock, humorous, nonhumorous). Experiments 3-5 also demonstrated that trait hostility was positively related to state hostility but did not moderate the song lyric effects. Discussion centers on the potential role of lyric content on aggression in short-term settings, relation to catharsis and other media violence domains, development of aggressive personality, differences between long-term and short-term effects, and possible mitigating factors.
Research bearing on several popular conceptions of the major determinants of anger arousal indicates that the particular appraisals often identified as causes of anger frequently only serve to affect the intensity of the anger that is generated. Research into effects of physical pain or other physically unpleasant conditions or involving social stresses suggests that decidedly aversive conditions are a major spur to anger. Experiments are also reviewed showing that anger-related muscular movements can also lead to anger-related feelings, memories, cognitions, and autonomic responses. Alternative explanations for the findings are discussed. The authors urge emotion theorists to widen their methodology and analyses so that they give careful, detailed attention to the many different factors that can influence anger.
In research with animals as well as samples of chronic pain patients and elderly persons, pain has been positively correlated with measures of irritability, hostility, and aggression. The present investigation examined the relationship of pain tolerance with aggression. 72 men participated in the Response Choice Aggression Paradigm, described previously by Zeichner and colleagues, in which aggressive response to provocation was possible but not required of participants. Subjective pain tolerance, defined as maximal electrical shock willingly tolerated by participants, was assessed. Significant but small Pearson product-moment correlations between pain tolerance and aggression ranged between .21 and .32, with the largest accounting for 9% of variance.
Taboo words are defined and sanctioned by institutions of power (e.g., religion, media), and prohibitions are reiterated in child-rearing practices. Native speakers acquire folk knowledge of taboo words, but it lacks the complexity that psychological science requires for an understanding of swearing. Misperceptions persist in psychological science and in society at large about how frequently people swear or what it means when they do. Public recordings of taboo words establish the commonplace occurrence of swearing (ubiquity), although frequency data are not always appreciated in laboratory research. A set of 10 words that has remained stable over the past 20 years accounts for 80% of public swearing. Swearing is positively correlated with extraversion and Type A hostility but negatively correlated with agreeableness, conscientiousness, religiosity, and sexual anxiety. The uniquely human facility for swearing evolved and persists because taboo words can communicate emotion information (anger, frustration) more readily than nontaboo words, allowing speakers to achieve a variety of personal and social goals with them (utility). A neuro-psycho-social framework is offered to unify taboo word research. Suggestions for future research are offered.
© 2009 Association for Psychological Science.
Article
Many quantities of interest in medicine, such as anxiety or degree of handicap, are impossible to measure explicitly. Instead, we ask a series of questions and combine the answers into a single numerical value. Often this is done by simply adding a score from each answer. For example, the mini-HAQ is a measure of impairment developed for patients with cervical myelopathy.1 This has 10 items (table 1)) recording the degree of difficulty experienced in carrying out daily activities. Each item is scored from 1 (no difficulty) to 4 (can't do). The scores on the 10 items are summed to give the mini-HAQ score.
View this table:View PopupView InlineTable 1
Mini-HAQ scale in 249 severely impaired subjects
When items are used to form a scale they need to have internal consistency. The items should all measure the same thing, so they should be correlated with one another. A useful coefficient for assessing internal consistency is Cronbach's alpha.2 The formula is:
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where k is the number of items, si2 is the variance of the ith item and sT2 is the variance of the total score formed by summing all the items. If the items are not simply added to make the score, but first multiplied by weighting coefficients, we multiply the item by its coefficient before calculating the variance si2. Clearly, we must have at least two items-that is k >1, or will be undefined.
The coefficient works because the variance of the sum of a group of independent variables is the sum of their variances. If the variables are positively correlated, the variance of the sum will be increased. If the items making up the score are all identical and so perfectly correlated, all the si2 will be equal and sT2 = k2 si2, so that si2/sT2 = 1/k and = 1. On the other hand, if the items are all independent, then sT2 = si2 and = 0. Thus will be 1 if the items are all the same and 0 if none is related to another.
For the mini-HAQ example, the standard deviations of each item and the total score are shown in the table. We have si2 = 11.16, sT2 = 77.44, and k = 10. Putting these into the equation, we have
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which indicates a high degree of consistency.
For scales which are used as research tools to compare groups, may be less than in the clinical situation, when the value of the scale for an individual is of interest. For comparing groups, values of 0.7 to 0.8 are regarded as satisfactory. For the clinical application, much higher values of are needed. The minimum is 0.90, and =0.95, as here, is desirable.
In a recent example, McKinley et al devised a questionnaire to measure patient satisfaction with calls made by general practitioners out of hours.3 This included eight separate scores, which they interpreted as measuring constructs such as satisfaction with communication and management, satisfaction with doctor's attitude, etc. They quoted for each score, ranging from 0.61 to 0.88. They conclude that the questionnaire has satisfactory internal validity, as five of the eight scores had >0.7. In this issue Bosma et al report similar values, from 0.67 to 0.84, for assessments of three characteristics of the work environment.4
Cronbach's alpha has a direct interpretation. The items in our test are only some of the many possible items which could be used to make the total score. If we were to choose two random samples of k of these possible items, we would have two different scores each made up of k items. The expected correlation between these scores is .
References1.↵Casey ATH, Crockard HA, Bland JM, Stevens J, Moskovich R, Ransford AO.Development of a functional scoring system for rheumatoid arthritis patients with cervical myelopathy Ann Rheum Dis (in press).2.↵Cronbach LJ.Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests.Psychometrika1951; 16:297–333.3.↵McKinley RK, Manku Scott T, Hastings AM, French DP, Baker R.Reliability and validity of a new measure of patient satisfaction with out of hours primary medical care in the United Kingdom: development of a patient questionnaire.BMJ1997; 314:193–8.OpenUrlFREE Full Text4.↵Bosma H, Marmot MG, Hemingway H, Nicholson AC, Brunner E, Stansfield SA.Low job control and risk of coronary heart disease in Whitehall II (prospective cohort) study.BMJ1997; 314:558–65.
It is unclear whether stably aggressive boys would be characterized by high or low pain sensitivity. Adolescent boys in whom physical aggression, executive functioning, anxiety, and family adversity had been assessed longitudinally formed three groups who differed in stability of physical aggression: stable, unstable, and non-aggressive. Stable aggressives were the least pain sensitive, whereas unstable aggressives were the most pain sensitive. While at low levels of executive functioning pain sensitivity could not be distinguished between the aggressive groups, at high levels unstable aggressives reported even more pain, whereas stable aggressives reported even less pain. Variations in anxiety were associated strongly with pain sensitivity in unstable aggressives. High pain ratings were found in boys who had a moderate level of family adversity, and low pain ratings in boys with low or high adversity. The differences in pain sensitivity between the groups may be motivationally important to the frequency and type of aggression.
Although a common pain response, whether swearing alters individuals' experience of pain has not been investigated. This study investigated whether swearing affects cold-pressor pain tolerance (the ability to withstand immersing the hand in icy water), pain perception and heart rate. In a repeated measures design, pain outcomes were assessed in participants asked to repeat a swear word versus a neutral word. In addition, sex differences and the roles of pain catastrophising, fear of pain and trait anxiety were explored. Swearing increased pain tolerance, increased heart rate and decreased perceived pain compared with not swearing. However, swearing did not increase pain tolerance in males with a tendency to catastrophise. The observed pain-lessening (hypoalgesic) effect may occur because swearing induces a fight-or-flight response and nullifies the link between fear of pain and pain perception.
Two studies assessed whether playing video games would significantly distract participants from painful stimulation via a cold pressor test. In Study 1, participants (8 men, 22 women, M age = 18.5 yr., SD = 1.3) in an action-oriented game condition tolerated pain for a longer time period and reported lower pain intensity ratings than those in a nonaction-oriented game or a nongame control condition. No differences were found on scores of aggressiveness, competitiveness, or prior video game experience, suggesting that these factors play little role. In Study 2, participants (14 men, 13 women, M age = 19.7 yr., SD = 1.3) engaged in six video game conditions (action, fighting, puzzle, sports, arcade, and boxing) and a nongame control condition. Video game play produced an increase in pulse, which was greatest during the action, fighting, sports, and boxing games. Pain tolerance was greatest during the sports and fighting games. Thus, certain games produce greater distraction, which may have implications for the medical field as an adjunct to pain management.
A new questionnaire on aggression was constructed. Replicated factor analyses yielded 4 scales: Physical Aggression, Verbal Aggression, Anger, and Hostility. Correlational analysis revealed that anger is the bridge between both physical and verbal aggression and hostility. The scales showed internal consistency and stability over time. Men scored slightly higher on Verbal Aggression and Hostility and much higher on Physical Aggression. There was no sex difference for Anger. The various scales correlated differently with various personality traits. Scale scores correlated with peer nominations of the various kinds of aggression. These findings suggest the need to assess not only overall aggression but also its individual components.
It is unclear whether stably aggressive boys would be characterized by high or low pain sensitivity. Adolescent boys in whom physical aggression, executive functioning, anxiety, and family adversity had been assessed longitudinally formed three groups who differed in stability of physical aggression: stable, unstable, and non-aggressive. Stable aggressives were the least pain sensitive, whereas unstable aggressives were the most pain sensitive. While at low levels of executive functioning pain sensitivity could not be distinguished between the aggressive groups, at high levels unstable aggressives reported even more pain, whereas stable aggressives reported even less pain. Variations in anxiety were associated strongly with pain sensitivity in unstable aggressives. High pain ratings were found in boys who had a moderate level of family adversity, and low pain ratings in boys with low or high adversity. The differences in pain sensitivity between the groups may be motivationally important to the frequency and type of aggression.
Fear and/or anxiety about pain is a useful construct, in both theoretical and clinical terms. This article describes the development and refinement of the Fear of Pain Questionnaire (FPQ), which exists in its most current form as the FPQ-III. Factor analytic refinement resulted in a 30-item FPQ-III which consists of Severe Pain, Minor Pain, and Medical Pain subscales. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the FPQ-III were found to be good. Four studies are presented, including normative data for samples of inpatient chronic pain patients, general medical outpatients, and unselected undergraduates. High fear of pain individuals had greater avoidance/escape from a pain-relevant Behavioral Avoidance Test with Video, relative to their low fear counterparts, suggesting predictive validity. Chronic pain patients reported the greatest fear of severe pain. Directions for future research with the FPQ-III are discussed, along with general comments about the relation of fear and anxiety to pain.
Animal studies suggest that fear inhibits pain whereas anxiety enhances it; however it is unclear whether these effects generalize to humans. The present study examined the effects of experimentally induced fear and anxiety on radiant heat pain thresholds. Sixty male and female human subjects were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 emotion induction conditions: (1) fear, induced by exposure to three brief shocks; (2) anxiety, elicited by the threat of shock; (3) neutral, with no intervention. Pain thresholds were tested before and after emotion induction. Results suggest that findings from animal studies extend to humans: fear resulted in decreased pain reactivity, while anxiety led to increased reactivity. Pain rating data indicated that participants used consistent subjective criteria to indicate pain thresholds. Both subjective and physiological indicators (skin conductance level, heart rate) confirmed that the treatment conditions produced the targeted emotional states. These results support the view that emotional states modulate human pain reactivity.
Prior work indicates that exposure to fear-inducing shock inhibits finger-withdrawal to radiant heat in humans (hypoalgesia), whereas anxiety induced by threat of shock enhances reactivity (hyperalgesia; Pain 84 (2000) 65-75). Although finger-withdrawal latencies are thought to reflect changes in pain sensitivity, additional measures of pain are needed to determine whether pain perception is altered. The present study examined the impact of negative affect on visual analog scale (VAS) ratings of fixed duration thermal stimuli. One hundred twenty-seven male and female human subjects were randomly assigned to one of three emotion-induction conditions: (1) negative affect induced by exposure to three brief shocks; (2) negative affect elicited by the threat of shock without presentation; and (3) neutral affect, with no intervention. VAS ratings were tested before and after emotion-induction. Results suggest that both negative affect manipulations reduced pain. Manipulation checks indicated that the emotion-induction treatments induced similar levels of fear but with different arousal levels. Potential mechanisms for affect induced changes in pain are discussed.
- Cannon W. B.