Short Report A Picture’s Worth Partner Photographs Reduce Experimentally Induced Pain
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چکیده
Social support is associated with reduced pain experience across several domains (Cogan & Spinnato, 1988; Kulik & Mahler, 1989; Zaza & Baine, 2002); intriguingly, a handful of experimental studies suggest that this connection may reflect a causal relationship. Participants who received interactive support during a cold pressor task reported less pain than participants who completed the task alone or engaged in nonsupportive interactions (Brown, Sheffield, Leary, & Robinson, 2003; Jackson, Iezzi, Chen, Ebnet, & Eglitis, 2005). Moreover, the mere presence of another supportive individual (vs. being alone) reduced pain ratings in a cold pressor task (Brown et al., 2003; but see McClelland & McCubbin, 2008) and reduced pain ratings among fibromyalgia patients following stimulation to a painful body site (Montoya, Larbig, Braun, Preissl, & Birbaumer, 2004). Could the same pain-attenuating effects of social support be observed by merely activating the mental representation of a supportive other? Previous work has shown that activating mental representations of important others can produce effects similar to those created by the actual presence of these individuals (Fitzsimons & Bargh, 2003; Mikulincer & Shaver, 2001). Building on this research, the current study examined whether simply viewing a photograph of one’s romantic partner could reduce physical-pain experience. We examined how this condition compared with one that is more consistent with previous conceptualizations of social support—one in which the participant held her partner’s hand.
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تاریخ انتشار 2009