Measurements of a single galvanic skin response based upon its rate topography

Methods for the identification of the points of transition among three states (nonresponse, response, and recovery) of a single GSR are described. It is proposed that the topography of the rate of change of the skin resistance provides a basis for both the identification of the initiation and termination of a simple GSR and the estimation of the GSR magnitude. Data selected from a study in differential GSR conditioning suggest, for the present purposes, the desirability of a trichotomous classification of GSRs depending upon the response rates which typify the nonresponse state of a particular S under a particular set of conditions. Comparisons among estimates of the time of GSR initiation and termination and of the GSR magnitude by three different methods are made for each of the three proposed method of estimating the GSR magnitude, latency, and recruitment--may increasingly misestimate their values as the preresponse or nonresponse rate departs from zero and as the duration of the response increases.