The Interruptive Effect of Pain in a Multitask Environment: An Experimental Investigation

Abstract

Daily life is characterized by the need to stop, start, repeat, and switch between multiple tasks. Here, we experimentally investigate the effects of pain, and its anticipation, in a multi-task environment. Using a task switching paradigm participants repeated and switched between three tasks, of which one predicted the possible occurrence of pain. Half of the participants received low intensity pain (N=30) and half high intensity pain (N=30). Results showed that pain interferes with the performance of a simultaneous task, independent of the pain intensity. Furthermore pain interferes with the performance on a subsequent task. These effects are stronger with high intensity pain than with low intensity pain. Finally, and of particular importance in this study, interference of pain on a subsequent task was larger when participants switched to another task than when participants repeated the same task. PerspectiveThis article is concerned with the interruptive effect of pain on people"s task performance by using an adapted task switching paradigm. This adapted paradigm may offer unique possibilities to investigate how pain interferes with task performance while people repeat and switch between multiple tasks in a multi-task environment.

The anticipation of pain at a specific location of the body prioritizes tactile stimuli at that location

“…Third, analysis of the JND data revealed that participants were less accurate in making tactile TOJs on trials in which bodily threat was induced compared to control trials. Although we had no specific hypotheses regarding the JND, this reduced accuracy in tactile TOJs following the anticipation of pain is in line with studies showing that painful somatosensory stimuli interfere with task performance (e.g., [6,27,28,34]). Forth, it should be noted that also in control trials the PSS differed significantly from the actual point of simultaneity (0ms).…”

Activity interruptions by pain impair activity resumption, but not more than activity interruptions by other stimuli: an experimental investigation

“…We also showed that activities are performed less accurately and more slowly after being interrupted by pain [17]. This finding adds to existing evidence that pain impairs performance of concurrent tasks [6,8,9,27,36] and switching to new tasks [30]. Further, it parallels findings from other research fields, showing performance decrements after interruptions by pain-irrelevant demands (e.g., [5,35]).…”

“…Theoretical accounts of the disruptive nature of pain [14] and research showing that pain during a task impairs performance more than other stimuli (such as aversive non-tactile stimulation [16] or less aversive tactile stimulation [12,13,30]), imply that interruptions by pain produce worse outcomes than interruptions by non-painful stimuli. To date, however, direct evidence supporting this hypothesis is lacking.…”

“…Thus, pain might impair performance in a concurrent task [6,8,9,27,36], or in an immediately subsequent task [30], but its effects on a task that is resumed after a longer time period might in the meantime be washed out, for example because they are countered by compensation strategies that make up for the impairment that has occurred. A careful examination of the time-course of pain effects will offer insight into this issue.…”

Interrupted by pain: An anatomy of pain-contingent activity interruptions

“…the typical finding that performance is impaired when one switches from one activity to another, compared to continuing with the same activity. In the field of pain it has been shown that switching from a painful task to another activity imposes higher costs than switching from a non-painful task to another activity [38]. The second process involves retrieving from memory the information regarding the interrupted task [33].…”