The effect of attachment orientation priming on pain sensitivity in pain-free individuals

The current study examined the causal relationship between secure and anxious attachment orientations and pain sensitivity in a pain-free sample. In a double blind repeated measures study, a cold pressor task was used to induce acute pain in 95 participants before and after priming them with a secure or anxious attachment orientation or a neutral prime. Measures of pain threshold, tolerance, catastrophizing and intensity were taken. Compared to the neutral prime, secure and anxious primes resulted in higher tolerance and threshold. The experimental conditions did not differ in reported pain intensity or pain catastrophizing. These findings suggest a causal relationship between attachment experiences and pain sensitivity that may be of interest to those devising and researching pain management interventions.