Interaction of Coping Style and Cognitive Strategies in the Management of Acute Pain

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Abstract
Congruence between coping style and cognitive strategy was hypothesized to maximize the management of acute pain. Forty-eight undergraduates, half repressors and half sensitizers, were assigned to cognitive distraction, sensation monitoring, or no instruction, after which they were exposed to pressure stimulation. Two 2 × 3 (coping style x experimental condition) ANOVAs of pain tolerance and distress ratings did not yield interactions, but demonstrated that cognitive distraction facilitated higher tolerance than sensation monitoring or no instruction. These findings are discussed in terms of flexibility in cognitive coping and the methodological paradigms used in analogue research on pain, and are generalized to acute clinical pain.