Swearing and pain treshold
ASSESSMENT DETAILS
You are required to write up an APA formatted research report in an area of cognitive psychology. You will be provided with the data file for this – you do not need to collect any further data.
Topic: Swearing and Pain Threshold
Historically, it was considered that swearing served no adaptive function and could only be bad for us. Humans are equipped with an array of cognitive biases and distortions which promote us to think and behave more efficiently, but not necessarily more accurately. Psychologists at one time believed that swearing served only to make us feel worse through a cognitive distortion known as catastrophising; we would perceive the situation to be the worst possible outcome and swearing would reinforce feelings of helplessness. However, swearing is such a common response – in particular to a painful stimulus – that presuming it to be completely maladaptive does not really make sense.
In this research report, you are exploring the potentially beneficial role of swearing in increasing one’s pain tolerance. The logic behind this is that, if swearing in response to pain is so common, perhaps it serves to reduce pain sensitivity. You have conducted a research study pre-lockdown – thankfully! So you have all of your data already collected.
What you did:
You did something a bit like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MDW1zgwOhw
Specifically, you had 40 participants who took part in the ice water challenge.
- The first independent variable was whether participants said a neutral word or a swear word (counterbalanced of course, like a good scientist), so half of the participants took part in the neutral word condition first, and then the swear word condition, and the other half took part in the swearing condition first followed by the neutral condition.
- The second independent variable was self-reported daily swearing frequency. Participants provided an estimate of this and you split participants into low daily swearing frequency (less than 10) and high swearing frequency (more than 20).
- There were two dependent variables. The first was the length of time participants could hold their hand in the iced water (in seconds); you take this as an objective measure of pain threshold. The second was self-reported pain felt on a scale of 1-10, immediately after removing their hand from the water; you take this as a subjective measure of pain threshold.
You expect that participants will be able to hold their hand in ice water for longer in the swearing condition than the neutral condition. You expect that those with a high daily swearing frequency will be able to hold their hand in ice water for longer than those with a low daily swearing frequency. You expect that those who swear more will hold their hands in ice water for even longer when swearing than when saying a neutral word – something you do not expect to see in low frequency swearers.
You expect to see the same results when looking at the second dependent variable, the subjective measure of pain threshold. Specifically, you expect to see lower pain ratings in the swearing condition; lower pain ratings among high frequency swearers; and you expect to see lower pain ratings among high frequency swearers in the swearing condition in particular.
Writing the report – a brief reminder:
Remember this should be written in APA format – see information on Canvas for a starting point, and look online for more information if you need it.
Page 1: Cover page (name, title, word count)
Page 2: Abstract
Page 3: Introduction: review the literature appropriately; develop a coherent rationale, finishing with your hypotheses.
Then: method (participants; materials; design; procedure): describe each of these sections clearly and succinctly
Results; use the appropriate step by step guide to help you analyse the data if you need help (you should have 2 analyses – 1 on each dependent variable)
Discussion: fully discuss your results – start with a brief recap of the aims and whether or not the hypotheses were supported. Then interpret your results and discuss them as though they are true, reliable, and valid. THEN go on to pick them apart and critique your methods, procedure, the literature etc. as you see fit.
New page: References
Appendices if relevant (it is unlikely you will need to include anything here)
LEARNING OUTCOMES ASSESSED:
- Generate, operationalise, and explore hypotheses and research questions drawing on relevant theory and research.
- Design, conduct and engage with psychological research involving a range of methods.
- Analyse, present, evaluate and interpret quantitative and qualitative data and research findings in order to develop arguments and make sound judgements in accordance with theories and concepts in psychology.
- Use appropriate ethical frameworks and principles to identify, evaluate and address the ethical implications of psychological research
- Use a variety of psychological tools, including specialist software, and laboratory equipment
- Critically evaluate psychological theory and research
- Communicate psychological research according to appropriate conventions
Note that to pass the assessment, all learning outcomes must be met.
