Analysis of Human Emotions Using Galvanic Skin Response and Finger Tip Temperature

Emotion is the excited mental state of a person caused by internal and external factors. In this work, a person’s physiological parameters are measured to decide emotional status. A generalized system measures changes occurring in the body of a subject, such as heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, electro-dermal (Galvanic skin resistance) activity, and arm and leg motions. These measurements are then compared with the normal levels of the subject. The present work monitors the physiological parameters by connecting sensors at specific points on a test body. Two physiological parameters are considered: galvanic skin response (GSR) and finger tip temperature (FTT). The heart rate is predominant in deciding the emotion of a person. This system, in conjunction with a certified examiner, is used to analyze a subject’s stress. A system is constructed that measures physiological parameters along with signal conditioning units. These measurements are transmitted to a LabVIEW add-on card for further data processing and analysis. LabVIEW is a graphical programming language that includes all tools necessary for data acquisition, data analysis, and presentation of results. The results obtained are realistic and provide a measure of accuracy. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-61350-456-7.ch3.19