An arousal interval scale: a psychophysical scale for GSR analysis

Area of Science:

• Psychophysiology
• Psychological Measurement

Background:

• Galvanic skin response (GSR) is a common psychophysiological measure.
• Existing measurement methods for GSR face limitations, particularly concerning base-level corrections and interpretation.
• The psychological meaning attributed to GSR often diverges from its physical measurement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel interval scale for measuring GSR.
• To establish that GSR physically measures the hypothetical construct of arousal.
• To justify the use of an interval scale that does not require base-level correction.

Main Methods:

• Development of an interval scale for GSR based on psychophysics.
• Empirical studies to validate the scale and its interpretation.
• Literature review to assess GSR's adherence to established psychophysiological laws, such as Wilder's Law of Initial Values.

Main Results:

• The proposed interval scale measures GSR deflections without base-level correction.
• Empirical evidence supports the assertion that GSR measures the arousal construct.
• GSR was found not to conform to Wilder's Law of Initial Values.

Conclusions:

• An interval scale for GSR, using a convenient "zero" for base level, is justified.
• Scales based on physical units for GSR are deemed unjustified.
• The study discusses potential extensions for the application of this interval scale in research.