Why People Prefer More Pain

we're replicating a psychological experiment about perceptions of discomfort this is a bucket of cold water yep you're going to put your hand in and you're going to keep it in there for a duration that we won't tell you as it's in the water you can rate your discomfort on this scale if basically you're at the point where like I am an Agony let me take my hand out of here you can dial it up to that oh my God yep can't feel my f stinging tic painful num num more pain pain maybe pain that can't hold it and obviously you've got two hands we'll be doing this three times I'm replicating an experiment originally conducted by Daniel Conan and Barbara Frederickson in 1993 just as in the original study I've told participants we're investigating the difference in pain perception between dominant and non-dominant hands I'm assuming you're right-handed yeah I'm right-handed okay but that is not the true purpose of the experiment left hand in you go ahead oh it's cold and we've started yeah all the way to the wrist that's good what's the physical sensation like cold freezing yeah there's like a point where it almost feels like a muscle cramp both numbing and tingling it is it is get getting colder and colder yes half of the participants were randomly assigned to use their left hand first the other half used their right hand first they indicated in real time how much discomfort they were experiencing it's getting like progressively worse it it feels cold I wouldn't want to stay there for very much very long good are you from Russia or something yes so you're used to the I used to call to at the end of the trial I told them to pull their hand out and give an overall rating for The Experience about a seven yeah yeah I mean I wouldn't want to swim in that no three 7 six then they took a 15-minute break before returning to submerge their other hand yeah I I can't hold it uh yeah but that's real cold huh yeah I could probably go another minute I reckon what about an hour no it's like stinging this time it it started to feel like I can't feel my hand now something like that is that a good is that a good ...