EMOTIONAL AND SENSORY FOCUS AS MEDIATORS OF DENTAL PAIN AMONG PATIENTS DIFFERING IN DESIRED AND FELT DENTAL CONTROL

Giving patients instructions to focus on sensory (vs. emotional) stimu li during a root canal procedure significantly reduced self-reported p ain, but only among patients who were classified as having strong desi re for control and low felt control in dental situations. Among patien ts with low felt control and low desire for control, sensory-focus ins tructions produced greater pain reports than did emotion-focus instruc tions. Finally, high desire-low felt patients reported higher levels o f expected pain before treatment than did other patient subgroups. The se data suggested limiting conditions for H. Leventhal's (1982) theory of emotion and supported the idea that desire for control might moder ate the effects of perceived control.