Effects of Values on Pain Tolerance and Activity Under a Laboratory-Induced Pain Condition1,2

Abstract

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) has been utilized to help individuals deal with pain avoidance. We analyzed whether the values clarification procedure used in ACT increased pain tolerance and experiment-related activity for undergraduates exposed to pain using a cold pressor procedure. Participants built houses with blocks while experiencing pain. In Experiment 1, participants were randomly assigned to a value group (described and declared values) or a control group (described and declared block colors). The value group showed significantly greater pain tolerance, more block houses, and more colors/forms than the control group. Experiment 2 investigated the effects of declaring values. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: declaration group (described and declared values), no declaration group (described values), and control group (described block colors). The no declaration group showed significantly greater pain tolerance and more block houses than the control group; there was no difference between the declaration and control groups. The results imply that describing values is useful for behavioral activation, but the effect of declaring values might depend on the context.