Electrodermal Activity Wrist-Based Systems

Abstract

Electrodermal activity (EDA) can be defined as an electrical property of the skin, measured in the palm and sole, related to the level of conductivity, influenced by the sweat level that may depend on various stimuli. Different equipments have been used to capture EDA with high levels of reliability, validity, and responsiveness, however these values vary according to the site of measurement. The increased use of EDA wrist-based systems highlights the need of characterizing the psychometric properties of these kind of systems. The aim of this chapter is to review the validity, reliability, and responsiveness of EDA measurement in the wrist. Previous studies have demonstrated that wrist measurement present low to moderate correlations, against the gold standard systems, with moderate levels of responsiveness, while no study addressed reliability. Wrist EDA measurement could be therefore an acceptable option, however, more studies are demanded not only to assess related values of reliability, as well to best characterize validity and responsiveness measures.