Physiological Versus Self-Report Measures of Arousal During Tactical Training Involving a Synthetic Topographic Environment

Abstract

This research compared the electrodermal activity (EDA) of 43 West Point Cadets while they completed a tactical task using 2 different displays (HoloLens vs. Tablet, within-subjects). It further compared EDA results to self-reported affect/arousal results from the Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM; Bradley & Lang, 1994). First we sought to understand how EDA varied between the two different types of presentation formats (Hololens vs. Tablet). Second it was expected that the EDA data would negatively correlate to self-report data based on previous research (Boyce, Reyes, et al., 2016), and third the EDA and self-report measures were expected be able to predict performance. Results did not indicate significant differences based on display type, however the results did support the negative correlation between EDA and SAM. Finally there was a trend toward predicting performance but it did not reach statistically significant levels, warranting the need for further investigation.