Could Self-distancing Alter the Perception of Experimental Pain?

NCT ID: NCT05511857

Last Updated: 2022-09-19

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: UNKNOWN
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 292 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2022-09-07
• Study Completion Date: 2024-06-09

Brief Summary

Physical pain leads to a narrow, egocentric focus on the self, in the here and now, particularly when experienced at high intensity levels. When long-term pains are experienced, this narrow focus could be debilitating, since attention to the pain itself may increase its perceived intensity and it could increase negative emotional processes that further contribute to pain-related suffering. One way of overcoming this could be by adopting a more distant view of oneself and the pain, thereby making the pain more abstract. An established way of creating distance is by reflecting on the self, using one's own name and second or third-person singular pronouns, so called third-person self-talk. Earlier research has reported that a psychologically distant perspective could reduce emotional distress when reflecting on negative experiences, reduce feelings of anger after provocation and to lower blood pressure. Self-distancing should thus help people mentally reconstrue their pain experience and possibly make the pain signals less cognitively salient. In this experimental study, healthy participants will be induced with pain while performing different tasks.

Detailed Description

Physical pain leads to a narrow, egocentric focus on the self, in the here and now, particularly when experienced at high intensity levels. When long-term pain is experienced, this narrow focus could be debilitating, since attention to the pain itself may increase its perceived intensity and it could increase negative emotional processes that further contribute to pain-related suffering. One way of overcoming this could be by adopting a more distant view of oneself and the pain, thereby making the pain more abstract. An established way of creating distance is by reflecting on the self, using one's own name and second or third-person singular pronouns, so called third-person self-talk. Earlier research has reported that a psychologically distant perspective could reduce emotional distress when reflecting on negative experiences, reduce feelings of anger after provocation and lead to lower blood pressure. Self-distancing should thus help people mentally reconstrue their pain experience and possibly make the pain signals less cognitively salient.

In the first part of this study, which will be the first registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, we will experimentally induce pain in healthy participants (N = 292) with a cold pressor apparatus. The cold pressor apparatus holds a constant water temperature of 1 degree Celsius, which creates pain in the immersed hand. At the experimental test session, the participant will first be comfortably seated and receive information about the task and the experimental pain induction. They will be instructed to withhold their hand in the cold water for as long as possible, but when they feel that the pain becomes too intense they can choose to remove their hand. After that, a blood pressure measurement will be conducted. Directly after that, the participant will be instructed to put their hand in the cold water-bath (the cold pressor apparatus), and when they put their hand in the cold water a new blood pressure measurement will be conducted. A timer will be started to measure the time in seconds that the participant is able to keep their hand in the cold water. While their hand is in the cold water-bath, the participant will conduct one of the four different interventions (self-distanced, third-person self-talk following a cue-card; self-immersed, first-person self-talk following a cue-card; distraction intervention following a cue-card; no intervention (control)). When the participant removes their hand from the cold water-bath, the time in seconds will be noted and they will immediately be asked to estimate their pain on a Numerical Rating Scale. A short debriefing will conclude the session.

Conditions

Pain, Experimental

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: BASIC_SCIENCE
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

The effect of a self-distanced view on pain perception.

The participant will exert self-distanced, third-person self-talk following a cue-card while induced with experimental pain.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Self-distancing, third-person self-talk.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

The participants will engage in self-distancing, third-person self-talk.

The effect of a self-immersed view on pain perception.

The participant will exert self-immersed, first-person self-talk following a cue-card while induced with experimental pain.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Self-immersed, first-person self-talk.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

The participants will engage in self-immersed, first-person self-talk.

The effect of non-view, self-talk on pain perception.

The participant will exert self-talk following a cue-card while induced with experimental pain.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Distraction

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

The participants will engage in a distraction task.

Pain perception in induced, experimental pain.

Control group. This group will be induced with experimental pain, but will receive no specific task to exert.

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

Self-distancing, third-person self-talk.

The participants will engage in self-distancing, third-person self-talk.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Self-immersed, first-person self-talk.

The participants will engage in self-immersed, first-person self-talk.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Distraction

The participants will engage in a distraction task.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• No known disease affecting the nervous system.
• Swedish comprehension.
• Age over 18 years old.
• -

Exclusion Criteria

• Experiencing clinical pain at the test session.
• Known disease affecting the nervous system.
• Inadequate Swedish comprehension.
• Age under 18 years old.
• -

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Linnaeus University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Helena Gunnarsson

Senior lecturer

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Helena Gunnarsson, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Linnaeus University

Locations

Helena Gunnarsson

Vaxjo, Kronoberg County, Sweden

Site Status: RECRUITING

Countries

Sweden

Central Contacts

Helena Gunnarsson, PhD

Role: CONTACT

helena.gunnarsson@lnu.se

+46708432509

Jens Agerström, Professor

Role: CONTACT

jens.agerstrom@lnu.se

Facility Contacts

Helena Gunnarsson, PhD

Role: primary

helena.gunnarsson@lnu.se

0708432509

References

Ayduk, Ö., Kross, E. (2010). Analyzing Negative Experiences Without Ruminating: The Role of Self-Distancing in Enabling Adaptive Self-Reflection. Soc Personal Psychol Compass, 841-854. 10.1111/j.1751-9004.2010.00301.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

Loewenstein G. Out of control: visceral influences on behavior. Organ Behav Hum Decis Process. 1996;65(3):272-292.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

Mischkowski, D., Kross, E., Bushman, B.J. (2012). Flies on the wall are less aggressive: Self-distancing "in the heat of the moment" reduces aggressive thoughts, angry feelings, and aggressive behavior. J Exp Soc Psychol 48, 1187-1191.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

Orvell A, Vickers BD, Drake B, Verduyn P, Ayduk O, Moser J, Jonides J, Kross E. Does distanced Self-Talk Facilitate Emotion Regulation Across a Range of Emotionally Intense Experiences? Clin Psych Sci 2021; 9: 68-78.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

Gunnarsson H, Agerstrom J. Pain From a Distance: Can Third-Person Self-Talk Mitigate Pain Sensitivity and Pain Related Distress During Experimentally Induced Pain? Psychol Rep. 2024 Aug 1:332941241269520. doi: 10.1177/00332941241269520. Online ahead of print.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 39091032 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

LinneausU

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id