Electrodermal activity measure: A methodological review. (September 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Li, Shanshi; Sung, Billy; Lin, Yuxia; Mitas, Ondrej
• Is Part Of: Annals of tourism research. Volume 96(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-09
• Subjects: Electrodermal activity -- Emotion arousal -- Tourism -- Hospitality -- Methodological review; Tourism -- Periodicals
• DOI: 10.1016/j.annals.2022.103460
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0160-7383

Abstract

Abstract: As an alternative technique to traditional self-report questionnaire, electrodermal activity measurement can offer great accuracy in recording customers' moment-to-moment emotional arousal. The emergence of affordable and relatively accessible recording equipment has made such measurement frequent in tourism and hospitality studies in the past decade. However, electrodermal activity measurement entails comparatively strict rules and procedures. Violating these rules and procedures may mislead researchers when interpreting their findings and can compromise the validity of the results. This paper reviews 25 tourism and hospitality articles using electrodermal activity measurement to highlight key methodological issues. In so doing, the article provides guidelines for researchers adopting such measurement as an affective data collection tool in tourism and hospitality research in both laboratory and field. Highlights: Electrodermal activity is a valid and well-tested measure of emotion arousal. This measure contributes to theory development if it is appropriately employed. Most studies incompletely explained how electrodermal activity data are collected. The review highlights common errors when using such measure in tourism. Best-practice for applying electrodermal activity measure in tourism is provided.