Examination of Psychological and Physiological Pathways Linking Gratitude and Pain

Self-reported measures of pain will be reported on a numeric scale of 0 (no pain) to 10 (strongest pain imaginable every 15 seconds throughout a cold pressor test and again 1 minute and 10 minutes post cold pressor test.

Pain tolerance will be measured in terms of how many seconds individuals can keep their hand submerged in near-freezing water, for a maximum of up to 90 seconds (the task will be ended at that point).

Pain onset will be measured in seconds between participants submerging their hands into near-freezing water and the self-reported beginning of pain.

The Rumination and Reappraisal subscales from the Pain-Related Cognitive Processes Questionnaire were used to assess the extent to which individuals engaged in various thought processes during the cold pressor test. Each subscale is comprised of 6-items and answered on a 0 (Not at all) to 4 (All or most of the time) scale. Scores on each item are summed to calculate an overall score which can range from 0 to 24, with higher scores indicative of greater use of each cognitive process.

Autonomic nervous system responsivity will be assessed using levels of salivary alpha-amylase. Unstimulated whole saliva samples will be collected using the passive drool technique at the following time points: 1) immediately following completion of baseline surveys, 2) immediately following the experimental writing task, 3) 1-minute post-cold pressor test, and 4) 10-minutes post-cold pressor test.