Motivation and Skin Temperature Biofeedback: Yerkes‐Dodson Revisited

The purpose of the present experiment was to explore the relationship between motivation and task difficulty during temperature biofeedback. A 2 (task difficulty: suggestion vs no‐suggestion) × 3 (motivation: 0¢ vs 25¢ vs 50¢) design was employed. It was hypothesized that a curvilinear function would be obtained in the suggestion groups following the Yerkes‐Dodson law for moderately difficult tasks. Forty‐seven subjects were randomly assigned to the six experimental conditions and were trained to increase their finger temperature. Motivation was manipulated by paying subjects, 0, 25, or 50¢ for every. 1 °F they increased their ringer temperature over baseline for 3 days. As predicted, the results are quite compatible with the Yerkes‐Dodson law and help to clear up previous inconsistencies in the literature. A potentially important clinical implication of the above findings is that it may be to a patient's advantage to reduce his/her level of motivation for maximum results.