SingStress: Sensor Analysis in Acute Psychological Stimulation

Abstract

Acute stress results in significant risks to the cardiovascular and immune systems, so monitor and manage effectively is important. Existing studies frequently utilize sensors such as photoplethysmography (PPG) and electrodermal activity (EDA) to monitor and evaluate stress, however, they often miss to compare the sensitivity of these sensors. In this experiment, we collected PPG and EDA data from 26 participants during resting and public speaking tasks. Participants were also asked to complete a stress-related questionnaire. Pearson’s correlation coefficients were calculated from the analysed data and questionnaire score. The results indicate that for the male group, the correlation with stress for PPG sensors ( ρSH = 0.5796 ) was stronger than for EDA sensors (ρSR = 0.1036 ). Oppositely, for the female group, EDA sensors showed a stronger correlation with stress ( ρSR = 0.6265 ) compared to PPG sensors ( ρSH = 0.2093 ). These findings suggest that PPG sensors are more sensitive for male students, while EDA sensors are more sensitive for female students.