Role of Self-Protective Attributions in the Experience of Pain

Abstract

A study was conducted to test the proposition that reported pain perception varies depending on the utility that perception has in promoting self-serving attributions. Subjects were told they would be taking two tests of verbal intelligence under different types of distraction. On the first test, where the distraction was loud noise, subjects were given performance-contingent or performance-noncontingent success feedback in order to make them more or less confident about their ability to perform well on the second test. Prior to the second test, whose distraction was immersion of the hand in cold water, subjects were given the opportunity to self-handicap (Jones & Berglas, 1978) by rating how painful the cold water was (baseline pain rating). On the second test subjects received either success or failure feedback, and at the completion of the test, again rated the painfulness of the cold water and made attributions for their performances. As predicted, noncontingent success (i.e., low confidence) subjects self-handicapped by reporting that the cold water was more painful prior to Test 2 than did contingent success subjects. In addition, noncontingent success subjects attributed greater performance impairment to the cold water. The findings also indicated that failure (Test 2) subjects gave significantly higher posttest pain ratings and attributed greater pain-related performance impairment than did success (Test 2) subjects. The implications of the findings for the role of self-attributions in self-esteem protection and the treatment of clinical pain patients are discussed.