The Psychology of Physical Symptoms

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-x

   PDF

2. Introduction and Overview

   • James W. Pennebaker

   Pages 1-18

3. Perceptual Processes I: Competition of Cues

   • James W. Pennebaker

   Pages 19-35

4. Perceptual Processes II: Schemas, Selective Search, and Inference

   • James W. Pennebaker

   Pages 37-57

5. Accuracy of Perception Relative to Physiological State

   • James W. Pennebaker

   Pages 59-80

6. Cognitive Organization I: Emotions

   • James W. Pennebaker

   Pages 81-102

7. Cognitive Organization II: Blood Pressure and Blood Glucose

   • James W. Pennebaker

   Pages 103-132

8. Personality and Developmental Correlates

   • James W. Pennebaker

   Pages 133-151

9. Summary and Conclusions

   • James W. Pennebaker

   Pages 153-164

10. Back Matter

    Pages 165-197

    PDF

Physical symptoms are fascinating phenomena to examine. We all experience them, use them as signals to guide our behavior, and usually assume that they accurately represent underlying physiological activity. At the same time, we implicitly know that bodily sensations are often vague, ambiguous, and subject to a variety of interpretations. It is not surprising, then, that there is often a disparity between what we think is going on in our bodies and what is objectively occurring. In short, phenomena such as physical symptoms are the stuff of psychology. My own research into physical symptoms started by accident several years ago. In a hastily devised experiment dealing with the effects of noise on behavior, I had to write a post-experimental questionnaire that would be long enough to allow the experimenter time to calibrate some equipment for a later portion of the study. I included some physical symptoms on the questionnaire as fillers. The experiment was a total failure, with the exception of the symptom reports. People's perceptions of symptoms were easily influenced by our manipulations, even though their actual physiological state had not changed. And so began the present inquiry. Despite the pervasiveness, importance, and sheer amount of time and money devoted to discussing and curing common physical symptoms and sensations, very little empirical work has been devoted to examining the psychological and perceptual factors related to sensory experience. Occa­ sional papers have tested a specific theory, such as cognitive dissonance, wherein physical symptoms served as an interesting dependent measure.

• Emotion
• Psychosomatische Erkrankung
• perception
• personality
• psychology

• Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA

  James W. Pennebaker

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