The love that keeps us from pain: A psychophysical investigation

Objective: The present study aimed to determine the psychological factors that modulate pain perception experienced when a loved one is nearby. Design: This is a within-subjects study design involving two conditions: alone and in the presence of a loved one. Materials and methods: Seventeen right handed female volunteers (mean age: 20.59; SD: 2.85) were recruited. All volunteers were given two sets of questionnaires: (1) Experiences Close Relationship-Relationship Structure (ECR-RS) to assess their attachment types (secure, dismissing, fearful and preoccupied) with respect to 4 accompanying loved ones (parents, sibling, best friend and romantic partner); and (2) Personality Inventory (USMaP-i) to test personality traits in five dimensions: Extraversion, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, Neuroticism, and Openness. Only candidates with 'preoccupied' attachment type were asked to accompany the volunteers during the experiment. Pain threshold was determined by giving volunteers pain stimuli over the dorsum of the right hand using Th:YAG laser with the energies gradually increased until they felt pain. Results: Results from this study revealed that increased pain threshold was seen in those accompanied by their romantic partners and positively correlated with Extraversion type of personality. Conclusion: There is variation in individual responses to pain when a loved one is present which could be dependent on the personality type, current emotions, and type of relationship between the person and the accompanying loved one. � 2019 Japan Health Sciences University & Japan International Cultural Exchange Foundation.