Observer trait anxiety is associated with response bias to patient facial pain expression independent of pain catastrophizing

Abstract

Nonverbal communication, such as facial expression, is an important component of the communication of pain to an observer. One factor that influences pain perception by an observer is characteristics specific to the observer themselves (ie, ‘top-down’ characteristics). The authors of this article aimed to assess how anxiety in the observer affects their ability to rate a sufferer’s pain, controlling for pain catastrophizing.