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- Agerström, Jens, 1976-, et al.
(författare)
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Pain here and now : physical pain impairs transcendence of psychological distance
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Pain Research. - : Dove Medical Press Ltd. - 1178-7090. ; 12, s. 961-968
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The ability to traverse psychological distance by going beyond the experienced reality of the self, here and now, is fundamental for effective human functioning. Yet, little is known about how physical pain affects transcendence of psychological distance. Using a construal level theory framework of psychological distance, the current research examines the hypothesis that pain impairs people's ability to traverse any kind of psychological distance whether it be temporal, social, and spatial distance, or the hypothetical. Methods: Using the cold pressor test, 151 participants participated in an experiment where they were either induced with acute pain (treatment group) or no pain (control group) while completing a battery of questions measuring to what extent their current thoughts were transcending psychological distance. Results: The results were largely consistent with the hypothesis. Relative to the control group, pain induced participants showed significantly less transcendence of past temporal distance, social distance, spatial distance, and the hypothetical. Furthermore, greater self-reported pain intensity was significantly associated with less transcendence of temporal (past and future), social, and spatial distance. Conclusion: Physical pain impairs the ability to traverse psychological distance. The research has practical implications for the pain clinic and for pain-afflicted individuals in everyday life.
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| 2. |
- Gunnarsson, Helena E. M., et al.
(författare)
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Clinical pain, abstraction, and self-control : being in pain makes it harder to see the forest for the trees and is associated with lower self-control
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Pain Research. - Auckland : Dove Medical Press. - 1178-7090. ; 11, s. 1105-1114
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: Although abstract thinking is a fundamental dimension of human cognition, it has received scant attention in research on pain and cognition. We hypothesized that physical pain impairs abstraction, because when people experience pain at high intensity levels, attention becomes concretely focused on the self in the here and now, where little else matters than finding relief for the pain they are currently experiencing. We also examined the relationship between pain and self-control, predicting that pain would debilitate self-control. Patients and methods: Abstraction and self-reported self-control were assessed in 109 patients with musculoskeletal pain. The influence of specific pain qualities, such as pain intensity, pain interference with daily activities, pain duration, and pain persistence, was examined. Furthermore, we assessed other factors (e.g., anxiety, depression, and fatigue) that could be assumed to play a role in the pain experience and in cognitive performance. Results: Higher pain intensity and persistence were associated with less abstract thinking. Furthermore, self-control decreased with greater pain intensity, persistence, and self-reported pain interference with daily activities. Self-reported depressive symptoms mediated the overall relationship between pain and self-control. Conclusion: Abstraction is compromised in patients reporting higher pain intensity and persistence. Different dimensions of pain also predict lower self-control although depression seems to account for the relationship between overall pain and self-control. The current study is the first to report an association between clinical musculoskeletal pain and abstraction. The results suggest that pain patients may suffer from a broader range of cognitive disadvantages than previously believed.
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