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INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN PAIN THRESHOLD AND LEVEL OF AROUSAL
Author(s) -
HASLAM DIANA R.
Publication year - 1967
Publication title -
british journal of psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.536
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 2044-8295
pISSN - 0007-1269
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8295.1967.tb01067.x
Subject(s) - arousal , psychology , threshold of pain , audiology , pain perception , perception , stimulant , significant difference , developmental psychology , anesthesia , social psychology , psychiatry , medicine , neuroscience
The pain thresholds of a group of introverts and extraverts were assessed. It was found that the mean pain threshold of the introverts was significantly lower than that of the extraverts. In a further experiment it was found that caffeine, a stimulant drug, lowered the mean pain threshold significantly. The relation between the perception of pain and level of arousal is discussed, and it is argued that the difference in mean pain threshold values as between introverts and extraverts is attributable to a difference in level of arousal.