It's the Thought That Counts

Which physically hurts more?

A. Someone hits you intentionally.
B. Someone hits you accidentally but with the same force as in A.
C. A and B hurt the same, silly.

Turns out the answer seems to be A.

From Newsweek.com...

When it comes to pain, scientists appear to have shown that intentions really do matter. Harvard researchers report that people experience more pain if they perceive that the pain is intentionally inflicted.

“When someone steps on your toe on purpose, it seems to hurt more than when the person does the same thing unintentionally. The physical parameters of the harm may not differ - the toe was mashed both times - but the psychological experience of pain is changed nonetheless,” the researchers report in Psychological Science [pdf].

Why? One clue comes from the finding that, in the brain, feelings of physical pain and social harm (such as being rejected) are processed by similar regions. Social harms are, typically, intentional, and are more painful to relive than physical harms. If you combine physical pain with social pain (he meant to hit me!), the combination is that much more hurtful.