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Selective attention for pain‐related information in healthy individuals: the role of pain and fear
Author(s) -
Roelofs Jeffrey,
Peters Madelon L,
Vlaeyen Johan W.S
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
european journal of pain
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.305
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1532-2149
pISSN - 1090-3801
DOI - 10.1016/s1090-3801(02)00021-6
Subject(s) - attentional bias , vigilance (psychology) , anxiety , psychology , pain catastrophizing , trait anxiety , chronic pain , clinical psychology , psychiatry , cognitive psychology
The aim of this study was to investigate whether pain itself or pain‐related fear is crucial in eliciting attentional bias towards pain‐related information in healthy individuals. The results from two successive experiments provide evidence that attentional bias does not take place as a function of pain‐related fear or as a function of pain per se. Attentional bias for pain words was neither found to be related to trait variables like anxiety, depression, catastrophising, fear of pain, and pain vigilance. Implications of the results are discussed and directions for future research are provided.