Abstract
Based on prior research identifying dispositional optimism as a predictor of placebo
responding, the present study tested the hypothesis that individuals high in optimism
would be more likely to respond to a placebo analgesic. Optimists and pessimists were
randomly assigned to a placebo expectation condition or a no expectation condition
before a cold pressor task. Blood pressure and heart rate were recorded before and
during the cold pressor task, and participant ratings of pain and expectations were
obtained immediately after the task. Analysis of the expectation manipulation revealed
that the placebo instruction was successful in altering participant expectancy during
the cold pressor. Supporting the main hypothesis, dispositional optimism was associated
with lower pain ratings in the placebo condition but not in the control condition.
Because dispositional optimism can alter placebo responding to laboratory pain, future
studies should examine the potential role that this individual difference factor may
play in patient responsivity to pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatments
for clinical pain.
Perspective
This study examined the possibility that individual differences can predict placebo
analgesia. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either a placebo expectation
or no expectation before a cold pressor task. Dispositional optimism was related to
less cold pressor pain in the placebo condition as compared with the control condition.
Key words
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to The Journal of PainAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions.Sage, Newbury Park1991
- Neuropharmacological dissection of placebo analgesia: Expectation-activated opioid systems versus conditioning-activated specific subsystems.J Neurosci. 1999; 19: 484-494
- Somatopic activation of opioid systems by target-expectations of analgesia.J Neurosci. 1999; 9: 3639-3648
- The Placebo Response.HarperCollins Publishers, New York, NY2000
- Optimism.in: Snyder C.R. Lopes S.J. The Handbook of Positive Psychology. Oxford University Press, New York2002: 231-243
- The placebo response in pain reduction.in: Bonica J.J. Advances in Neurology. The placebo response in pain reduction. Vol 4. Raven Press, New York1974
- Discerning the role of optimism in persuasion: The valence-enhancement hypothesis.J Pers Soc Psychol. 2003; 85: 554-565
- Expectations and placebo response: A laboratory investigation into the role of somatic focus.J Behav Med. 2006; 29: 171-178
- Reconsidering the role of personality in placebo effects: Dispositional optimism, situational expectations, and the placebo response.J Psychosom Res. 2005; 58: 121-127
- Further evidence for individual differences in placebo responding: An interactionist perspective.J Psychosom Res. 2007; 62: 563-570
- Affective expectations and information gain: Evidence for assimilation and contrast effects in affective experience.J Exp Soc Psychol. 1999; 35: 394-413
- Goal activation, expectations, and the placebo effect.J Pers Soc Psychol. 2005; 89: 143-159
- Some personality factors associated with placebo responsivity.Psychol Rep. 1965; 17: 555-562
- Verbal expectancies and performance after alcohol.Addict Behav. 1998; 23: 489-496
- Dispositional predictors of placebo responding: A motivational interpretation of flower essence and gratitude therapy.J Psychosom Res. 2007; 62: 331-340
- The gaze of the optimist.Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2005; 31: 407-415
- The Placebo Effect in Healing.Lexington Books, Lexington, MA1978
- Optimism, self-efficacy, and information processing of threat- and well-being-related stimuli.Stress Health. 2007; 23: 285-294
- Anticipation of analgesia: A placebo effect.Headache. 1977; 1: 1-11
- The mechanisms of placebo analgesia.Lancet. 1978; 2: 654-657
- The short form of the McGill pain questionnaire.Pain. 1987; 30: 191-197
- Mechanisms of placebo pain reduction: An empirical investigation.Psychol Sci. 1996; 7: 174-176
- Classical conditioning and the placebo effect.Pain. 1997; 72: 107-113
- When moderation is mediated and mediation is moderated.J Pers Soc Psychol. 2005; 89: 852-863
- Understanding the Placebo Effect in Complementary Medicine.Harcourt Publishing, London, UK2001
- Response expectancies in placebo analgesia and their clinical relevance.Pain. 2001; 93: 77-84
- An analysis of factors that contribute to the magnitude of placebo analgesia in an experimental paradigm.Pain. 1999; 83: 147-156
- Endogenous opiates and the placebo effect: A meta-analytic review.J Psychosom Res. 2005; 58: 115-120
- Dispositional optimism and physical well-being: The influence of generalized expectancies on health.Health Psychol. 1985; 5: 219-247
- Distinguishing optimism from neuroticism (and trait anxiety, self-mastery, and self-esteem): A reevaluation of the Life Orientation Test.J Pers Soc Psychol. 1994; 67: 1063-1078
- Dispositional optimism and recovery from coronary artery bypass surgery: The beneficial effects on physical and psychological well-being.J Pers Soc Psychol. 1989; 57: 1024-1040
- Coping with stress: Divergent strategies of optimists and pessimists.J Pers Soc Psychol. 1986; 51: 1257-1264
- Optimism and attentional bias for negative and positive stimuli.Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2001; 27: 1334-1343
- Effects of a nausea expectancy manipulation on chemotherapy-induced nausea: A University of Rochester cancer center clinical oncology program study.J Pain Sympt Manag. 2008; 35: 381-387
- Dispositional optimism and coping: A meta-analytic review.Pers Soc Psychol Rev. 2006; 10: 235-251
- Predictors of pain catastrophizing in women with rheumatoid arthritis.Arch Psychiatr Nurs. 2001; 15: 279-288
- The placebo effect: Dissolving the expectancy versus conditioning debate.Psychol Bull. 2004; 130: 324-340
- The importance of placebo effects in pain treatment and research.JAMA. 1994; 271: 1609-1614
- Finding benefit in breast cancer: Relations with personality, coping, and concurrent well-being.Psychol Health. 2005; 20: 175-192
- The contributions of suggestion, desire, and expectation to placebo effects in irritable bowel syndrome patients: An empirical investigation.Pain. 2003; 105: 17-25
Article info
Publication history
Published online: June 02, 2010
Accepted:
February 16,
2010
Received in revised form:
February 5,
2010
Received:
November 23,
2009
Footnotes
Supported by National Institutes of Health grant R03 NS051687.
Identification
Copyright
© 2010 American Pain Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
