Effects of feedback and changing criterion on the control of skin temperature

Abstract

Effects of feedback and changing criterion procedure on the skin temperature control and cognitive events (motivation, perceived control of skin temperature, and sensations accompanied with autogenic training) during an autogenic training (AT) were examined. Fifteen male students, five of each, were assigned to either AT with feedback under a fixed criterion (AT-FC), AT with feedback under a changing criterion (AT-CC), or AT without feedback (AT-NF) groups. Subjects were asked to increase the temperature of the right index finger using the AT in 12 training sessions. The criterion of feedback was fixed in the AT-FC group while it was increased in the AT-CC group when the temperature had satisfied the criterion in the previous session. Feedback had no effect on the performance of skin temperature control. However, it functioned as a cue for the judgement of performance and weakened the feeling of heaviness of the limbs. Changing criterion improved the performance gradually and increased the perceived efficacy of AT. These results suggested that the arousal elicited by feedback stimuli might suppress the feedback effect, and that the criterion could control the pattern of skin temperature change.