(252) The Role of Self-Other Comparisons in Race Differences in Pain Tolerance

Abstract

Research has found race differences in pain sensitivity and tolerance. Evidence suggests how people compare themselves to similar others influences interpretations of their own health and well-being. We examined participants’ perceptions of their pain sensitivity compared to their perceptions of the pain sensitivity of “typical” members of their race (self-other comparison) and how these self-other comparisons related to race differences in actual pain tolerance. Black and White undergraduates (N=132; 48.5% Black) completed the Race/Ethnicity Expectations of Pain Questionnaire and a cold pressor task. First, we examined participants’ beliefs related to race differences in pain using a paired samples t-test to understand the perceived pain sensitivity of the comparison groups. Then, we examined how participants’ self-other comparison ratings for pain moderated the relationship between race and actual pain tolerance using a robust multiple-group moderation analysis. Results indicated participants rated the “typical” Black person as less pain sensitive than the “typical” White person (t(131)=-6.83, p