Magnitude estimation of warmth: intra- and intersubject variability.

Fifty-two subjects, both male and female, 18 to 62 years old, were asked to hold a metal bar maintained at different temperatures (33 degrees to 42 degrees C), and to estimate the magnitude of the resulting thermal sensation. On the average, the estimates were linearly related to the stimulus temperature, although most individual subjects either under- or overestimated middle-range values. Intersubject variability, which was twice as large as intrasubject variability, could not be accounted for by gender, age, or body-temperature differences.