Verbal Reports of Pain without Noxious Stimulation

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
It was hypothesized that allowing Ss to observe a confederate model reporting a constant, nonaversive electric shock as progressively more noxious would elicit reports of pain to this same shock from Ss themselves. Two groups of 10 Ss received nonincremental shocks, with one group observing a model rate the shocks as progressively more painful. Ss concurrently rated shock intensity on a scale varying from undetectable to painful. Ss paired with a progressively less tolerant model matched this behavior. The findings were discussed in the context of vicarious learning theory and social influences on expressions of pain.