Peripheral temperature changes during rest and gender differences in thermal biofeedback

Thermal biofeedback (BFB) training is used extensively in clinical psychophysiology. However, there are large individual differences in the ability to control peripheral skin temperature and the magnitude of changes obtained varies considerably across studies. The aims of this study were: (1) to investigate the relationship between spontaneous peripheral temperature changes and changes voluntarily produced through a six-session thermal BFB training and (2) to investigate whether gender or other subjects' variables (trait anxiety, locus of control (LC) and field dependence) were related to learning of voluntary control of peripheral skin temperature. Results demonstrated that during the rest period preceding the feedback trials, there were consistent systematic temperature increases in which changes were bigger than those recorded in the BFB increase trials; among the subjects' variables considered, the only one that correlated significantly with learning ability was gender: Females showed greater control than males. Implications for clinical practice are discussed.