Date of Award

2006

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

Abstract

Pain catastrophizing is one of the most robust predictors of negative pain outcomes, including a greater number of pain behaviors, more intense pain, and greater disability. Although associated with negative pain outcomes, it has recently been suggested that catastrophizing may be a coping strategy aimed at garnering social support rather than simply a maladaptive cognitive response to pain. Recent research has found that pain catastrophizers engage in more communicative types of pain behaviors than non-catastrophizers, which is consistent with catastrophizing being used as a communal coping strategy. It is not known, however, whether these communicative pain behaviors are automatic or are used strategically to garner support. This study, therefore, examined whether the pain behaviors of catastrophizers are strategic by using the Facial Action Coding System (FACS), which has been shown to be reliable in identifying deceptive facial cues for pain. It was expected that participants scoring higher on the PCS would engage in more strategic pain behaviors than those scoring lower on the PCS when an observer was present but not when the participant was alone. University undergraduates ( n =131) completed a cold pressor procedure and a measure of pain catastrophizing (Pain Catastrophizing Scale, PCS). Participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: (1) participant alone ( n = 59) or (2) observer present ( n = 69). Video records were used to code behaviors according to the FACS. Contrary to expectation, a test for significant difference between correlations of level of catastrophizing and strategic pain behaviors in the observed and participant alone groups revealed no group differences. However, participants who reported higher levels of pain catastophizing reported that they believed they exaggerated their pain during the cold pressor test when alone, but not when an observer was present. Further research is, therefore, needed to clarify whether pain catastrophizers demonstrate fewer strategic pain behaviors in the presence of an observer, rather than more, perhaps due to feeling comforted by the presence of another.

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