Goals, mood and performance duration on cognitive tasks during experimentally induced mechanical pressure pain

Abstract

Background: The present study tested the hypothesis that the affective and motivational context influences performance duration in the presence of pain. More specifically, the Mood-as-Input model (MAI) proposes that the interaction between goals and moods affects performance duration. When people adopt achievement goals, negative, as opposed to positive moods, signal that not enough progress has been made leading to task continuance. Negative as opposed to positive moods lead to task disengagement when adopting hedonic goals.

Methods: Participants completed three open-ended cognitive tasks while being exposed to mechanical pressure pain to a finger. Before each task, mood (positive versus negative) and goal pursuit (hedonic versus achievement) were manipulated, with mood as between-subjects and goal pursuit as within-subjects factor. Performance duration was the dependent variable and goal order and performance duration during a no-goal task were the covariates.

Results: In line with common theories on goals and mood, but in contrast to the MAI model, only main effects were found of mood and goal pursuit. Participants showed greater performance duration in an achievement than in a hedonic goal context. Moreover, they showed greater performance duration in relative positive than negative moods.

Limitations: Pain may have decreased participants' mood below a certain threshold, which in turn may have obscured the MAI interaction effect.

Conclusions: This study demonstrates that affective and motivational factors influence performance duration in a pain context.