Skin potential level under arousal video stimulation in comparison with individual differences in empathy

Abstract

The reletaionship between the individual level of empathy and skin potential level as autonomic index of human arousal was investigated. Empathy belongs to higher psychical processes of perception and processing of the emotional information. It is considered that the empathy level is related also to the arousal level and not only to modulation of emotional reactions, due the same brain areas were shown activated for object and subject persons during processes of emotion identification and sympathy depending on type of emotions which were investigated. The aim of this work was to describe the relationship of personal empathy level (defined by psychological question­naire), subjective mood and emotional tension with the arousal of individuals (defined by an objective index of skin potential level). Palmar skin potential level was recorded for 60 volunteers before, during and after affective videostimulation. It was shown that subjective mood, emotional tension and skin potential level is statistically significant changed during stimulation meanwhile empathy level related to the dynamics of skin potential during subjects switching from one type of activity to other.

Keywords

• skin potential level
• empathy