Lack of control as a determinant of perceived physical symptoms

Two experiments, each with 48 undergraduates, investigated the role of lack of control in determining the extent to which individuals report experiencing physical symptoms. In Exp I, Ss who had little control over a noise burst subsequently reported a higher incidence of physical symptoms than did Ss who could control the noise burst. Unfortunately, degree of failure may have been confounded with degree of control in Exp I. Thus, Exp II was designed to determine if differential perceptions of control would produce differences in reported symptoms when degree of success was held constant. Greater symptoms were again reported by Ss in the no-control conditions. Exps I and II also explored questions concerning the mechanism underlying the effects of lack of control on reported physical symptoms. Both experiments failed to find evidence that Ss reported symptoms for ego-preserving reasons. Other data suggest that the symptoms reported by Ss were not related to their past experience with physical symptoms, nor were symptoms reported as a function of perceived or actual physiological arousal. (17 ref)