Love-stated Individuals' Eye Fixation under The Pain Conditions: Lovers VS. Mothers

As an old Chinese saying goes, “got married with a woman will make a man forget his mother”. It describes a situation that after a man establishing an intimate relationship, his psychological support and emotional input for his mother will be shifted to some extent to his lover. This research aims to explore the effects of love states and gender difference on the gaze of his lover or mother under the condition of pain. In this study, 35 college students were recruited, and 34 valid data (21 females, 13 males) were finally collected. Participants were divided into non-love group and in-love group by filling up the Passionate Love Scale (PLS). The length of tolerance under the cold pressor test and corresponding eye movement data are recorded. The results show that mother and intimate others’ picture can act as sources of social support which is helpful for pain relief. Non-love female participants significantly spent more time watching mothers’ pictures compared to lovers’ picture under the condition of pain. This distinction became smaller among in-love female participants. However, no statistical difference in the duration of mothers’ and lovers’ picture was found. In-love male participants significantly spend more time watching lovers’ pictures compared to their mothers under pain. The result suggests that love state affects the duration of mothers’ and lovers’ pictures among females. There is also gender difference in social support seeking.