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Friday, February 06, 2004Pain hurts less when it is inflicted by a woman, researchers have found. Students were asked to put their fingers in a clamp which was tightened until the pain was unbearable. Researchers from the University of Westminster found that people allowed women to turn the clamp much further than men. Dr David Williams, who led the research said the study suggested people do not expect women to inflict as much pain. ... 'This effect is likely to be a result of what participants subconsciously expect, based on socially acquired gender stereotypes - people feel that they are less likely to experience intense pain from a stimulus given by a woman rather than a man. 'This effect is less likely to be down to males trying to appear macho in front of a female - a conscious and deliberate act - as the result applied to both genders.' He said the fact there were no differences in how men and women responded to the test suggested women do not actually handle pain better. Dr Williams said people's sensitivity to pain was also shown to depend on their surroundings. In the study, people appeared to suffer more if there was a poster on the wall which might trigger negative feelings, such as a chart of wounds or a poster calling for blood donors. Dr. Williams suggests that perhaps we should perform painful procedures in pleasant environs. That's not a bad idea. I noticed this phenomenon during my residency training. The hospital I trained at had a very old labor and delivery suite. Most of the patients labored in standard hospital rooms and were moved to a separate delivery room when it came time to deliver the baby. (Today's birthing rooms were just beginning to catch on.) There were two delivery rooms. One had a modern table with comfortable leg rests. The other had poles with slings. It looked like a medieval torture device. Patients did a lot worse when they had to go to the second room. Universally. posted by Sydney on 2/06/2004 08:23:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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