Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, Spain.
J Pain. 2011 Nov;12(11):1190-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jpain.2011.06.008. Epub 2011 Aug 23.
Emotional abilities are predictive variables of lower perceived pain. However, no studies have been published investigating the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI), which refers to the ability to accurately perceive, appraise, understand, communicate and regulate emotions, and pain. The objective of the present study was to analyze the influence of EI, measured using the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT), on the level of sensory and affective pain generated by an experimental cold pressor task (CPT). In addition, we examined the influence of negative affect, as measured through the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), on the relationship between EI and pain. Healthy college students (N = 67) completed measures of EI before the CPT, during which they submerged their nondominant hand into ice water, and they completed measures of negative emotional state before and after the CPT. Participants with higher EI rated pain as less intense and perceived it as less unpleasant. Greater emotional intelligence predicted less pain in this experimental paradigm, and the effects seemed to be mediated by the lower NA reactivity associated with greater EI.
Emotional intelligence is an important element in the processing of emotional information during an experience of acute pain since it reduces the level of negative affect generated by the experimental task.
情绪能力是感知疼痛较低的预测变量。然而，目前还没有研究调查情感智力（EI）与疼痛之间的关系，EI 是指准确感知、评估、理解、交流和调节情绪的能力。本研究的目的是分析使用 Mayer-Salovey-Caruso 情绪智力测试（MSCEIT）测量的 EI 对实验性冷加压任务（CPT）引起的感觉和情感疼痛程度的影响。此外，我们还研究了通过积极和消极情绪量表（PANAS）测量的负性情绪对 EI 与疼痛之间关系的影响。健康的大学生（N=67）在 CPT 前完成了 EI 的测量，在此期间他们将非优势手浸入冰水中，并在 CPT 前后完成了负性情绪状态的测量。EI 较高的参与者认为疼痛强度较低，感觉不那么不愉快。在这种实验范式中，较高的情绪智力预示着疼痛程度较低，而这种影响似乎是由与较高 EI 相关的较低 NA 反应性介导的。
情绪智力是处理急性疼痛体验中的情绪信息的重要因素，因为它降低了实验任务产生的负性情绪水平。
