Nociceptive Sensitivity and Control: Hypo- and Hyperalgesia Under Two Different Modes of Coping

Effects of perceived control on nociceptive sensitivity were investigated in an experimental arrangement with N = 40 healthy volunteers in which the duration of painful pressure stimuli was made contingent on success in a tracking task. Perceived control over the pain duration was manipulated through varying the frequency of success in the tracking task. The amount of painful stimulation applied in the high and low control conditions was balanced by a yoked-control design. Pain sensitivity was measured before and after the tracking task by means of a thermal sensory analyzer. Pain sensitivity was found to decrease in the low control condition (hypoalgesia), and to increase slightly in the high control condition (hyperalgesia). These effects are explained with reference to a dual process model of coping.