Does mental toughness moderate the relationship between pain intensity and working memory?

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether mental toughness can moderate the relationship between pain and attention. Two studies were conducted with the second addressing methodological issues encountered in the first. The studies consisted of a within-subjects design and involved the completion of a 2-back task in a ‘Pain’ condition and a ‘No Pain’ condition. The pain manipulation was a cold pressor machine circulating water at 12oC ± 1oC, which participants held their hand in for 2 minutes whilst completing the 2-back task in the ‘Pain’ condition. Independent variables were mental toughness and pain intensity ratings, and the dependent variable were 2-back performance scores in each condition. Results did not support the hypotheses: performance on the 2-back task was not worse in the ‘Pain’ condition compared with the ‘No Pain’ condition; performance on the 2-back task did not decline as pain increased and mental toughness did not moderate the relationship between pain and attention (performance on the 2-back task). Potential reasons for the lack of supportive findings are discussed.