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10 - The Measurement of Electrodermal Activity in Children

from SECTION TWO - AUTONOMIC AND PERIPHERAL SYSTEMS: THEORY, METHODS, AND MEASURES

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 July 2009

By
Don C. Fowles
Edited by
Louis A. Schmidt  and
Sidney J Segalowitz
Don C. Fowles
Affiliation:
Professor of Psychology University of Iowa
Louis A. Schmidt
Affiliation:
McMaster University, Ontario
Sidney J Segalowitz
Affiliation:
Brock University, Ontario
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Summary

INTRODUCTION

The measurement of electrodermal activity (EDA) or palmar sweat gland activity in children involves many of the same issues as in adults. There are, however, some special problems that can arise with children, all of which are inversely proportional to age. The most fundamental problem has to do with possible differences in which stimuli elicit electrodermal responses. This topic has not been well researched, but infants and toddlers appear to respond to a more restricted range of stimuli and children may not respond to some stimuli as well as adults do. The second problem has to do with difficulties in timing the presentation of stimuli, especially in toddlers and very young children for whom compliance with experimental instructions is substantially less than for older children and adults. A third problem, also related to problems with compliance, is managing the stress associated with attaching electrodes in a strange laboratory setting. This chapter will begin with the nature and measurement of the electrodermal effector system, followed by the problems specific to children.

For readers interested in a more thorough coverage of this topic than is provided by the present chapter, there are a number of reference sources. Introductions to psychophysiology, including EDA, are available in the texts by Stern, Ray, and Quigley (2001) and Hugdahl (1995). Consensus recommendations for how to record EDA are offered by Fowles and colleagues (1981).

Type
Chapter
Information
Developmental Psychophysiology
Theory, Systems, and Methods
 , pp. 286 - 316
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2007

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References

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