Labial thermistor clip

The labial thermistor clip is used to measure changes in skin temperature of the labia minora associated blood engorgement of the labial tissue. This device consists of a thermistor affixed to a small metal clip that can be attached to the labia minora. The labial thermistor clip is the second most commonly used physiological measure of female genital response, next to the vaginal photoplethysmograph (VPG).[1] Both devices can be used simultaneously.[2] The labial thermistor clip has some advantages over VPG, including better test-retest reliability, greater level of concordance between genital and self-reported sexual arousal, and an absolute unit of change (temperature).[1][3] Like VPA, the labial thermistor clip has discriminant validity; that is, it detects differences between sexual and nonsexual stimuli. It is also sensitive to different levels of sexual arousal.[2] The labial thermistor clip has some disadvantages because participants have difficulty with placing the device correctly and some report discomfort with using the device.[2]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chivers, M. L., Seto, M. C., Lalumière, M. L., Laan, E., & Grimbos, T. [“Agreement of self-reported and genital measures of sexual arousal in men and women: A meta-analysis”], “Archives of Sexual Behavior, 6, 1678-1687”, 2010
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Prause, N. & Heiman, J. R. [“Assessing female sexual arousal with the labial thermistor: Response specificity and construct validity”], “International Journal of Psychophysiology,72, 115 – 122”, 2009
  3. ↑ Payne, K. & Binik, Y. M. [“Reviving the labial thermistor clip”], “Archives of Sexual Behavior, 35, 111-113”, 2006