Physiological measures of stress, including skin conductance response
Physiological measures record body changes that happen during stress. Skin conductance response (SCR) detects tiny increases in sweat on the skin caused by stress-related nervous system activity.
Real World
Lie detector (polygraph) tests used by the FBI measure skin conductance response — operatives under interrogation show heightened sweating even when trying to appear calm, demonstrating SCR's sensitivity to psychological arousal that self-report cannot capture.
Exam Focus
Credit answers that identify SCR as objective and free from social desirability bias, but also note it cannot identify the specific stressor causing arousal.
Evaluation Scaffold
A four-step framework for high-quality evaluation. Use this for 'assess', 'evaluate', and 'to what extent' questions.
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