WHEN MORE PAIN IS PREFERRED TO LESS - ADDING A BETTER END

Subjects were exposed to two aversive experiences: in the short trial, they immersed one hand in water at 14-degrees-C for 60 s; in the long trial, they immersed the other hand at 14-degrees-C for 60 s, then kept the hand in the water 30 s longer as the temperature of the water was gradually raised to 15-degrees-C, still painful but distinctly less so for most subjects. Subjects were later given a choice of which trial to repeat. A significant majority chose to repeat the long trial, apparently preferring more pain over less. The results add to other evidence suggesting that duration plays a small role in retrospective evaluations of aversive experiences; such evaluations are often dominated by the discomfort at the worst and at the final moments of episodes.