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. 2019 May;160(5):1093-1102.
doi: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000001490.

An investigation of the effect of experimental pain on logical reasoning

Nina Attridge  1 , Edmund Keogh  2 , Christopher Eccleston  2   3
Affiliations

An investigation of the effect of experimental pain on logical reasoning

Nina Attridge et al. Pain. 2019 May.

Abstract

Pain disrupts attention to prioritise avoidance of harm and promote analgesic behaviour. This could in turn have negative effects on higher-level cognitions, which rely on attention. In the current article, we examined the effect of thermal pain induction on 3 measures of reasoning: the Cognitive Reflection Test, Belief Bias Syllogisms task, and Conditional Inference task. In experiment 1, the thermal pain was set at each participant's pain threshold. In experiment 2, it was set to a minimum of 44°C or 7/10 on a visual analogue scale (whichever was higher). In experiment 3, performance was compared in no pain, low-intensity pain, and high-intensity pain conditions. We predicted that the experience of pain would reduce correct responding on the reasoning tasks. However, this was not supported in any of the 3 studies. We discuss possible interpretations of our failure to reject the null hypothesis and the importance of publishing null results.

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References

    1. Agerström J, Gunnarsson H, Stening K. Does physical pain impair abstract thinking? J Cogn Psychol 2017;29:748–54.
    1. Attridge N, Crombez G, Van Ryckeghem D, Keogh E, Eccleston C. The experience of cognitive intrusion of pain: scale development and validation. PAIN 2015;156:1978–90.
    1. Attridge N, Doritou M, Inglis M. The development of reasoning skills during compulsory 16 to 18 mathematics education. Res Mathematics Education 2015;17:20–37.
    1. Attridge N, Eccleston C, Noonan D, Wainwright E, Keogh E. Headache impairs attentional performance: a conceptual replication and extension. J Pain 2017;18:29–41.
    1. Attridge N, Inglis M. Increasing cognitive inhibition with a difficult prior task: implications for mathematical thinking. ZDM Mathematics Education 2015;47:723–34.

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