Psychometric Correlates of Pain Perception

Abstract

There is disagreement in the literature as to whether responsivity to painful stimuli possesses psychometric correlates. A series of methodological and statistical factors are specified in this paper which could account for the equivocality of the literature. A series of experiments were performed in which (a) various methodological and statistical issues were first resolved and (b) psychometric correlates of pain perception were then identified by means of a stepwise multiple regression procedure. The criterion variable consisted of the psychophysical judgment of pain during a 2-min. exposure to a 3,000 gm. force on the periosteum of the left fore-finger's second digit. The predictor variables consisted of selected psychological states and traits measured by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Somatic Perception Questionnaire, Depression Adjective Checklist, Profile of Mood States, Eysenck Personality Inventory, and the Embedded Figures Test. The test-retest reliability of the pain test ranged from .64 to .84 across trials separated by a 3-wk. period. In the first experiment significant multiple regressions ranging between .57 and .72 were observed and psychological traits (field dependence, extraversion and trait anxiety) accounted for the variance in these analyses. In the next experiment significant multiple Rs ranging from .62 to .68 were observed. This served as cross-validation for the first experiment. The major difference was that psychological states (depression and vigor) as well as traits entered the multiple regression equations for certain of the analyses. It was concluded that selected psychological states and traits are significantly correlated with the perception of pain.

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