Dispositional Optimism and Thoughts of Well-Being Determine Sensitivity to an Experimental Pain Task

BackgroundPrior studies with patient samples have found dispositional optimism to be associated with less pain.PurposeWe examined the relationship between optimism and experimental pain. It was hypothesized that optimists generally cope with a painful stimulus by mentally disengaging from the pain. However, if optimists are prompted to think about health and well-being prior to the painful event, they are more responsive to the pain.MethodsOptimists and pessimists were primed with words related to health or with neutral words prior to the cold pressor task. Pain, distress, and cardiovascular reactivity to the cold pressor task were assessed.ResultsDispositional optimism was associated with lower pain sensitivity, distress, and cardiovascular reactivity in the neutral prime condition. In the health prime condition, optimists and pessimists did not differ on any of the dependent measures.ConclusionsDispositional optimism is associated with reduced pain for healthy adults encountering a brief pain stimulus. This relationship is eliminated, however, when individuals are primed with thoughts of health and well-being. The results are interpreted as evidence for the use of differential coping strategies by optimists in response to pain.

[1]  D. McCreary,et al.  Factorial validity of the short‐form McGill pain questionnaire (SF‐MPQ) , 2001, European journal of pain.

[2]  Y. Benyamini.  Can high optimism and high pessimism co-exist? Findings from arthritis patients coping with pain , 2005 .

[3]  C. Carver,et al.  On the Self-Regulation of Behavior , 1998 .

[4]  C. Carver,et al.  Optimism, coping, and health: assessment and implications of generalized outcome expectancies. , 2009, Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association.

[5]  F. Keefe,et al.  The relationship of locus of control to pain coping strategies and psychological distress in chronic pain patients , 1988, Pain.

[6]  D. Price,et al.  An analysis of factors that contribute to the magnitude of placebo analgesia in an experimental paradigm , 1999, PAIN.

[7]  Ronald Melzack,et al.  The short-form McGill pain questionnaire , 1987, Pain.

[8]  K. Kafetsios,et al.  Optimism, self-efficacy and information processing of threat- and well-being-related stimuli , 2007 .

[9]  G. Gendolla,et al.  Individual differences in optimism predict the recall of personally relevant information , 2007 .

[10]  Neil D. Weinstein,et al.  Mindset, optimistic bias about personal risk and health-protective behaviour , 1999 .

[11]  P. Pintrich,et al.  Handbook of self-regulation , 2000 .

[12]  A. Sherman,et al.  The relationship of optimism, pain and social support to well-being in older adults with osteoarthritis , 2007, Aging & mental health.

[13]  S. Segerstrom.  Optimism and Attentional Bias for Negative and Positive Stimuli , 2001 .

[14]  T. K. Srull,et al.  The Role of Category Accessibility in the Interpretation of Information About Persons: Some Determinants and Implications , 1979 .

[15]  H. Logan,et al.  Perceived Control and Negative Affect Predict Expected and Experienced Acute Clinical Pain: A Structural Modeling Analysis , 2007, The Clinical journal of pain.

[16]  D. Isaacowitz.  The Gaze of the Optimist , 2005, Personality & social psychology bulletin.

[17]  T. Chartrand,et al.  The mind in the middle: A practical guide to priming and automaticity research. , 2000 .

[18]  M. Angell,et al.  The quality of mercy. , 1982, The New England journal of medicine.

[19]  Charles S. Carver,et al.  On the structure of behavioral self-regulation. , 2000 .

[20]  V. Sinclair.  Predictors of pain catastrophizing in women with rheumatoid arthritis. , 2001, Archives of psychiatric nursing.

[21]  E. Ek,et al.  Association between optimism and self-reported facial pain , 2006 .

[22]  D. Isaacowitz,et al.  How optimists face skin cancer information: Risk assessment, attention, memory, and behavior , 2007 .

[23]  Ian M. Handley,et al.  Discerning the role of optimism in persuasion: the valence-enhancement hypothesis. , 2003, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[24]  P. Allison,et al.  A prospective investigation of dispositional optimism as a predictor of health-related quality of life in head and neck cancer patients , 2004, Quality of Life Research.

[25]  Donald D. Price,et al.  Psychological and neural mechanisms of pain , 1988 .

[26]  Andrew L. Geers,et al.  Goal activation, expectations, and the placebo effect. , 2005, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[27]  Charles S. Carver,et al.  Optimism, pessimism, and psychological well-being. , 2001 .

[28]  C. Carver,et al.  Effects of optimism, interpersonal relationships, and distress on psychosexual well-being among women with early stage breast cancer , 2008, Psychology & health.

[29]  Suzanne G. Helfer,et al.  Does gender affect the relation between blood pressure and pain sensitivity? , 2001 .

[30]  Lisa G. Aspinwall,et al.  Optimism, coping, psychological distress, and high-risk sexual behavior among men at risk for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). , 1992 .

[31]  K. Vohs,et al.  Case Western Reserve University , 1990 .

[32]  C. Carver,et al.  Dispositional optimism and physical well-being: the influence of generalized outcome expectancies on health. , 1987, Journal of personality.

[33]  G Tunnel,et al.  The discrepancy between private and public selves: public self-consciousness and its correlates. , 1984, Journal of personality assessment.

[34]  J. Bargh,et al.  The automated will: nonconscious activation and pursuit of behavioral goals. , 2001, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[35]  F. Keefe,et al.  Psychological aspects of persistent pain: current state of the science. , 2004, The journal of pain : official journal of the American Pain Society.

[36]  R. Fielding,et al.  Quality of life and pain in Chinese lung cancer patients: Is optimism a moderator or mediator? , 2007, Quality of Life Research.

[37]  C. Carver,et al.  On the Self-Regulation of Behavior , 1998 .

[38]  Daniel David,et al.  Relations between coping responses and optimism-pessimism in predicting anticipatory psychological distress in surgical breast cancer patients. , 2006, Personality and individual differences.

[39]  Suzanne C. Segerstrom,et al.  Dispositional Optimism and Coping: A Meta-Analytic Review , 2006, Personality and social psychology review : an official journal of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

[40]  G. Affleck,et al.  The costs and benefits of optimistic explanations and dispositional optimism. , 1987, Journal of personality.

[41]  J. Bargh,et al.  Automaticity of social behavior: direct effects of trait construct and stereotype-activation on action. , 1996, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[42]  E. Keogh,et al.  Anxiety sensitivity, cognitive biases, and the experience of pain. , 2002, The journal of pain : official journal of the American Pain Society.

[43]  Michael W. Bridges,et al.  Distinguishing optimism from neuroticism (and trait anxiety, self-mastery, and self-esteem): a reevaluation of the Life Orientation Test. , 1994, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[44]  F. Keefe.  Pain Biopsychosocial Mechanisms and Management , 1999 .

[45]  G. Affleck,et al.  The relationship of arthritis self-efficacy to daily pain, daily mood, and daily pain coping in rheumatoid arthritis patients , 1999, Pain.

[46]  M. Scheier,et al.  Public and private self-consciousness: Assessment and theory. , 1975 .

[47]  B. R. Schlenker,et al.  Self‐Consciousness and Strategic Self‐Presentation , 1991 .

[48]  C. Carver,et al.  Coping with stress: divergent strategies of optimists and pessimists. , 1986, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[49]  Gary G Bennett,et al.  Discrimination, dispositions, and cardiovascular responses to stress. , 2007, Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association.

[50]  Brad J. Bushman,et al.  What's in a name? The moderating role of public self-consciousness on the relation between brand label and brand preference. , 1993, The Journal of applied psychology.

[51]  S. Skevington.  Psychology of pain. , 1995 .

[52]  S. West,et al.  Multiple Regression: Testing and Interpreting Interactions. , 1994 .

[53]  Lisa G. Aspinwall,et al.  Distinguishing Optimism from Denial: Optimistic Beliefs Predict Attention to Health Threats , 1996 .

[54]  G. Affleck,et al.  Optimism, pessimism, and daily life with chronic illness. , 2001 .

[55]  Antonia Barke,et al.  The effects of experimenter characteristics on pain reports in women and men , 2004, Pain.

[56]  Albert Maydeu-Olivares,et al.  Assessing the dimensionality of optimism and pessimism using a multimeasure approach , 1994, Cognitive Therapy and Research.

[57]  K. Matthews,et al.  Dispositional optimism and recovery from coronary artery bypass surgery: the beneficial effects on physical and psychological well-being. , 1989, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[58]  K. Gil,et al.  Optimism predicting daily pain medication use in adolescents with sickle cell disease. , 2007, Journal of pain and symptom management.

[59]  J. Suls,et al.  The relative efficacy of avoidant and nonavoidant coping strategies: a meta-analysis. , 1985, Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association.