The effect of increased salience of a membership group on pain tolerance

Lambert, Wallace E.; Libman, Eva; Poser, Ernest G.

doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.1960.tb01624.x

Cited by 70 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…This is true for both sexes, and for White, Black and Oriental people. This finding is contradictory to all previous studies (19)(20)(21)(22)(23) except one (24).…”

Section: Group Differences In Pain Tolerancecontrasting

confidence: 84%

Pain Tolerance: Differences According to Age, Sex and Race

Woodrow

Friedman

Siegelaub

et al. 1972

Psychosomatic Medicine

397

151

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The nature and extent of group differences in pain tolerance according to age, sex and race were examined. The method of pain tolerance determination was mechanical pressure on the Achilles tendon, performed on 4 1 , 119 subjects as part of the Kaiser-Permanente Automated Multiphasic Screening examination. The results showed that, on the average, a) pain tolerance decreases with age; b) men tolerate more pain than women; and c) Whites tolerate more pain than Orientals, while Blacks occupy an intermediate position. When the results of this study are compared with earlier work, it appears that, with increasing age, tolerance to cutaneous pain increases and tolerance to deep pain decreases.Differences in patients' pain tolerance have been a continuing source of interest and concern to their physicians. Some individuals appear to bear severe pain with surprising equanimity, while others react to more moderate pain with apprehension and emotional turmoil.A test of pain tolerance was included in the routine multiphasic health examination of more than 40,000 subjects in the hope that the findings would be clinically useful. While the clinical value has yet to be demonstrated, rather clear-cut differences in pain tolerance according to age, sex and race were noted. These differences may reflect important cultural and biologic variability in pain reaction.

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“…This is true for both sexes, and for White, Black and Oriental people. This finding is contradictory to all previous studies (19)(20)(21)(22)(23) except one (24).…”

Section: Group Differences In Pain Tolerancecontrasting

confidence: 84%

Pain Tolerance: Differences According to Age, Sex and Race

Woodrow

Friedman

Siegelaub

et al. 1972

Psychosomatic Medicine

397

151

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…One process is that of intergroup social competition (Tajfel & Turner, 1986), whereby people are motivated, under certain circumstances, to differentiate positively their in-group from relevant out-groups. This is suggested in the work of Lambert et al (1960), and especially by Buss and Portnoy (1967). The second process is in-group social influence (Turner, 1991), whereby people's subjective understanding of reality (both physical and social) is determined, in part, by their understanding of in-group, but not out-group norms.…”

Section: The Empirical Role Of Salient Psychological Group Membershipmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Among males, the data suggested a tolerance ceiling effect across conditions; among females, however, tolerance levels were enhanced by tolerant group norms in two of three experimenter-communication conditions. Using pre-existing groups, Lambert, Libman, and Poser (1960) presented supposed pressure-pain tolerance group norms to Christian and Jewish participants. Christians increased their tolerance both when they believed their group could 'take more' and 'take less' (p. 355) pain than Jews; Jews increased their tolerance only when the believed their group could take less pain than Christians.…”

Section: The Empirical Role Of Salient Psychological Group Membershipmentioning

confidence: 99%

In‐group reassurance in a pain setting produces lower levels of physiological arousal: direct support for a self‐categorization analysis of social influence

Platow

Voudouris

Coulson

et al. 2006

Euro J Social Psych

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A large body of research demonstrates a strong social component to people's pain experiences and pain-related behaviours. We investigate this by examining the impact of social-influence processes on laboratory-induced pain responses by manipulating the social-categorical relationship between the person experiencing pain and another who offers reassurance. We show that physiological arousal associated with laboratory-induced pain is significantly lower in normal, healthy participants following reassurance about the pain-inducing activity when that reassurance comes from an ingroup member in contrast to reassurance from an out-group member and a no reassurance control. These data are consistent with predictions derived from self-categorization theory, providing convincing empirical support of its analysis of social influence using a non-reactive measure. These data also represent a clear advance within the pain literature by identifying a possible common process to the social-psychological component of pain responses.

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“…Researchers provided stronger evidence by experimentally manipulating beliefs and expectations among people regarding pain tolerance associated with their religious identities. When members of one religious group (e.g., Jewish) were informed that their group was less able to tolerate pain than members of another religious group (e.g., Protestant), there was an increase in pain tolerance (Lambert, Libman, & Poser, 1960). Thus, group beliefs about pain might directly alter pain perception.…”

Section: Pain Perceptionmentioning

confidence: 99%