Differences in Dynamics of Skin Conductance Responses Caused by Videos Evoking Fear, Family Bonding, and Funniness

There is a growing demand for techniques to estimate individuals’ subjective experiences based on their physiological signals to provide them with emotionally evocative services. We investigated differences in the dynamics of the skin conductance response among three types of emotions and whether they are emotion-dependent. Through a user study involving 33 participants, we analyzed the skin conductance responses that are observed when fear, family bond emotions, and funniness were aroused in video scenes. The skin conductance response was approximated by using an exponential function model. Subsequently, the parameters that are used to determine the waveform of the skin conductance response were compared for the three types of emotions. The results showed that the dynamics of the skin conductance response depended on emotions. The response caused by fear decreased more slowly than that caused by family bonding. Those associated with the family bond emotion rise more slowly than those associated with funniness. These findings can be useful for a more accurate emotion estimation when combined with other physiological signals.