The galvanic skin response or GSR allows to understand and measure the physiological properties of the skin. The skin is a very large organ and one that can have a large number of properties. That is why this is one of the best options to better understand its condition.
By means of this, all changes that occur during the moment of activation can be measured. This may even be able to measure whether the person is telling a lie. Although it may seem difficult, it is not, because at the moment of lying, the skin is physiologically activated. Even if it is not perceptible, it responds to the anxiety or stress of the moment.
What can this detect?
As already mentioned, the skin is an organ that reacts in different ways. It is the "interface" that links the outside with the inside, so it is normal that it can offer a lot of information.
Among the functions that the skin can carry out are the following:
Thermoregulation: The skin manages body temperature and is responsible for regulating it by means of peripheral blood circulation. This is why this is responsible for measuring this property of the skin.
Immune System: The skin is responsible for separating the inside of the body from the outside. There are many things the skin is exposed to and this affects it in many ways. The RSG is able to detect these things.
Detection and perception: The skin also has many nerve endings that allow it to sense what is on the outside.
All these elements are part of the skin's behaviour and, by means of an electrothermal response, the GSR is able to detect the variations.
The Polygraph
How is the galvanic response measured?
Measuring the galvanic response of the skin is a fairly simple process to carry out. It requires specialised equipment to measure and record changes in skin conductivity.
The whole process is carried out in three simple steps, which can be summarised as follows:
- The first thing is to place the specialised equipment, which has two sensors or electrodes. These are placed on two fingers of the hands because this is where there are the most sweat glands.
- The device emits a very small electrical charge through the electrodes. In this way, the conductivity of the body and the degree of moisture in the skin can be measured.
- The data goes into specialised software that interprets the voltage received by the electrodes. The results are then read and analysed.
In order to carry out this test, it is necessary to have a laboratory environment and under special conditions to ensure its reliability. Although it may seem a complex process, it is actually very simple.
Nowadays, there are even a large number of devices that can do this. And this is because there are a lot of people who are studying and who are interested in this.
In the world of neuromarketing, this practice has become quite common, which is why it has aroused the interest of many companies. Although this is not an exact science and has some limitations, the truth is that the information it yields can be very valuable for some brands and people.