Title
Reducing social pain: Sex differences in the impact of physical pain relievers
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-2014
Publication Title
Personal Relationships
Department
Communication Studies
Abstract
There is evidence that social pain or “hurt feelings” and physical pain share the same neural system. Although researchers have found that a physical pain reliever can reduce social pain, studies suggest that sex differences may influence these findings. Our results indicate that women who took ibuprofen felt less hurt or social pain when they were excluded from a game and when they relived a painful experience than did women who took a placebo. Men who took the pain reliever, by contrast, felt more hurt in both situations than did those who took the placebo. Further, the sex difference revealed in men's and women's ratings of their social pain was reflected in their open-ended verbal descriptions of social and physical pain.
Volume
21
Issue
2
pp.
349-363
ISSN
1350-4126
WorldCat Link
Citation
VANGELISTI, ANITA L, JAMES W. PENNEBAKER, NICHOLAS BRODY, and TREY D. GUINN. "Reducing Social Pain: Sex Differences in the Impact of Physical Pain Relievers." Personal Relationships. 21.2 (2014): 349-363. Print.