Priming Symptom Reports with Health-Related Cognitive Activity

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Abstract
Two experiments showed that self-reports of physical symptom frequency increase after people make abstract decisions about health connotations of common words. In Experiment 1, scores on a standardized symptom frequency inventory were substantially higher among subjects who completed the inventory after the decision task than among subjects who completed the inventory before the task. In Experiment Z similar increases were found in reports of discrete symptom episodes occurring within a specific time frame, and arousal and mood explanations were ruled out. Evidence was also obtained that manipulated accessibility of health cognitions (induced by the word decision task) and individual differences in propensity to report symptoms affect symptom reporting independently and that persons who consistently report higher levels of symptoms tend to make abstract decisions in the health domain more quickly. Discussion centers on implications for symptom measurement and on how the experimental results extend existing models of abnormal symptom reporting.