Voluntary increases in digital skin temperature during a mild cold exposure
Date
1976
Authors
Lewis, Johnnye Lynn
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Abstract
Two experiments were carried out in an attempt to train subjects to increase their digital skin temperatures in .a cold room through biofeedĀback techniques, and to assess the effect of this increase on perceptions of comfort and temperature, in addition to the effect on performance of dexterity and reasoning tasks.
Experiment I failed to show any evidence for long-term increases in digital skin temperatures as a result of the training procedure. However, some correlational data based on sex differences in perception ratings suggested that subjects would feel more comfortable and perceive a room as warmer when their digital skin temperature was elevated, even though the ambient temperature in the room was constant. The data also suggested that the training procedure itself was interfering with task performance in male subjects.
Analysis of individual subjects data from Experiment I suggested some procedural changes which might facilitate the elevation of digital skin temperature in the cold through biofeedback techniques. These changes were implemented in Experiment II. In this second study all subjects were able to elevate and maintain high digital skin temperatures throughout the feedback period, even though the same subjects showed expected cooling for a comparable period in u control session. As predicted, subjects rated their comfort and the room temperature higher during periods when their digital skin temperature was elevated. Only male subjects were run in Experiment II, and again, performance scores indicated that the effort and concentration required to voluntarily elevate digital skin temperature interfered with task performance.