The effects of induced anxiety on pain perception: A signal detection analysis

Abstract

This investigation assessed the effects of induced anxiety on pain perception. Anxiety was documented by self-report verbal indices and physiological indices. Measurement procedures based on signal detection theory were employed to separate discriminability and response bias in reporting pain. The major finding of the study was that induced anxiety, as defined by the combination of physiological and verbal indices, decreases pain sensitivity and the tendency to report sensations as painful. However, induced anxiety as defined by less stringent criteria (i.e., physiological or verbal indices alone), decreased discriminability, but not response bias, and the decrease was less than in patients who were defined as anxious by the more comprehensive criteria. The importance of documenting anxiety independently of the experimental manipulation and the value of using pain stimuli producing sensations similar to clinical pain is discussed.