House of Mind

According to MacDonald and Leary, social pain refers to the emotional reactions that accompany the perception that one is being excluded from a social relationship or being devalued by desired relationship partners or groups. Usually, when people talk about emotional/social pain (social pain is considered by some as a type of emotional pain), they think of the word pain as being an adequate metaphor for hurt feelings. But what if emotional pain caused by social exclusion, rejection and loss, for example, operates through a similar mechanism than physical pain? 

MacDonald and Leary (2005) have an interesting hypothesis: reactions to rejection are mediated by aspects of the physical pain system. From an evolutionary perspective, inclusion in social groups is essential for survival (in social animals). Thus, the authors propose that threats to social connections are basically processed and perceived as threats to safety. While this group argues that the aversive state characterized by emotional/social pain is similar to that experienced when going through physical pain, others (Thornhill & Thornhill, 1989) have argued that emotional pain functions in an analogous way to physical pain. They propose that such pain (social) focuses attention on significant social events (that may be important for survival) to promote the correction and avoidance of such future events. Interesting theory, no?

However, evidence supporting the theory of overlap between social and physical pain is abundant. For example, social and physical pain overlap in attitudes and behaviors and these 2 types of pain correlate similarly with factors such as extraversion, social support, anxiety, aggression and depression. Below is some of the evidence of overlap that I found most convincing:

• Shared physiological mechanisms: Both types of pain have been shown to involve the anterior cingulate cortex, periaqueductal brain structures, and opioid/oxytocin systems.
• The experience of pain consists of 2 components: pain sensation and pain affect. Pain sensation conveys information about actual tissue damage and is processed by specialized mechanoreceptors. Pain affect consists of the unpleasant and negative feelings that typically accompany pain sensation as well as the emotions associated with future implications of those sensations. Emotional pain taps into the pain circuitry indirectly- via the pain affect component. 
• Emotional pain, like physical pain, can serve to regulate and modify future behavior. Emotional and physical pain may both serve as negative reinforcement that functions to guide the animals to safety. Increases/decreases in pain mark avoidance/approach responses and behaviors, respectively in order to minimize pain.
• In the context of learning, specific early life experiences are involved in alleviating both types of pain. In babies, physical pain (hunger) or discomfort (soiled) is usually alleviated by emitting signals (crying, gestures) that elicit a caregiver response. The baby learns that physical (and social) contact may help minimize the pain so babies form attachment relationships. Basically, the baby learns that if it’s alone (socially isolated), it will be in pain (nobody will take care of it). In short, babies make this connection between social and physical pain very early on. 

Sources:

MacDonald and Leary. 2005. Why Does Social Exclusion Hurt? The Relationship Between Social and Physical Pain. The Psychological Bulletin. 131 (2): 202-223. DOI: 10.1037/0033-2909.131.2.202

Related seminal work: Panksepp, J. (1998). Affective neuroscience: The foundations of human and animal emotions. London: Oxford University Press.