The present investigation was an effort toward understanding the large individual differences that people have consistently shown in their ability to increase their skin temperature. While most previous studies in this area have narrowed their focus to include only subject variables that might affect performance, the present study was designed to examine an experimenter variable also. It was hypothesized that subject gender and experimenter gender would interact so that subjects paired with same-sex experimenters would show better ability to increase skin temperature than would subjects paired with opposite-sex experimenters. / Six male experimenters and six female experimenters were utilized in the study. Each experimenter ran four male subjects and four female subjects through 12 trials (six baseline and six experimental) in which their task was to increase their finger temperature. The trials were equally distributed across three experimental sessions spaced approximately a week apart. During experimental trials, subjects listened to autogenic phrases and were given thermal biofeedback to enhance performance. Subjects' performance differed significantly according to which experimenter they were paired with, regardless of subject and/or experimenter gender. Further, with these differences taken into account, male subjects performed significantly better than did female subjects, regardless of experimenter gender. / Utilizing a background information questionnaire, data were collected regarding various demographic characteristics of the subject sample. It was observed that subjects' geographical background and age were significantly related to their performance on the temperature increase task. A correlational analysis revealed no significant association between subjects' scores on the Beck Depression Inventory and subjects' performance. Also subjects' scores on a locus of control scale were not significantly related to subjects' performance. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-05, Section: B, page: 2160. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1986.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_75825 |
| Contributors | FLEET, MARTIN L., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 126 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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