Some Personality Factors Associated with Placebo Responsivity
The effects on placebo responsivity of Ss' self-esteem, social desirability, authoritarianism, and religious belief and behavior were studied in an experimental procedure involving measures of threshold and tolerance of pain induced by ultrasonic stimulation. Both the religiosity scores and scores on one social desirability test were significantly positively related to pain tolerance placebo measures, but no personality variable was related to pain threshold placebo scores. This relationship of personality factors with tolerance but not with threshold measures supports the hypothesis that pain threshold is more highly loaded with physiological than with psychological components whereas pain tolerance is more highly loaded with psychological than physiological components.