EDA/GSR Software for Tracking Stress, Attention, and Engagement
The iMotions EDA/GSR Module is a tool for measuring physical reactions in the body linked to emotion, attention, stress, and engagement.
By tracking tiny changes in skin sweat activity, researchers can see when someone becomes more emotionally or mentally activated during an experience.
EDA/GSR – The Signal Beneath the Surface
Beyond Self-Report
Captures physiological responses directly, not just what people say they feel.
Direct Arousal Signal
Measures sympathetic nervous system activity in real time.
True Emotional Intensity
Reveals how strongly something is felt, regardless of emotion type.
Implicit & Unfiltered
Unaffected by bias, memory, or social desirability.
Moment-to-Moment Insight
Pinpoints exactly when reactions occur during an experience.
Reveals Hidden Responses
Uncovers stress, engagement, and cognitive load that surveys miss.
How EDA/GSR Adds Value in Multimodal Setups
- Adds a direct, objective measure of arousal, revealing how strongly people react.
- Complements eye tracking and facial coding to show attention, emotion, and intensity together
- Uncovers reactions users don’t report or visibly express
- Pinpoints exactly when and why responses occur across synchronized data streams
- Strengthens confidence in your findings through true multimodal validation
iMotions EDA/GSR Core Capabilities
Automatic response detection
Instantly, and automatically, identifies changes in skin conductance (SCRs), so you can focus on insights instead of manual signal processing.
Clear, Structured Data Over Time
Breaks continuous data into easy-to-understand segments tied to your stimuli, giving you simple metrics like averages, peaks, and overall response strength.
Data Visualization and Analysis
Visualize complex data with ease, turning emotional and behavioral insights into clear, data-driven decisions that maximize engagement.
Works with Your Preferred Hardware
Compatible with leading GSR devices like Shimmer, Plux Biosignals, and BIOPAC, so you can use the setup that fits your lab.
Live Signal Monitoring
See data as it’s being recorded, allowing you to catch issues early and ensure high-quality results from the start.
Deeper Insight into Arousal
Separates baseline activity from moment-to-moment reactions, helping you understand both overall engagement and specific responses.
Perfectly Synced with Your Study
All GSR/EDA data is automatically aligned with your stimuli (videos, images, audio, VR), making it easy to see exactly what triggered each reaction.
Easy Export, Easy Integration
Export clean, ready-to-use data in standard formats (CSV/JSON) for further analysis in your preferred tools.
The EDA signal, explained
EDA gives you two complementary views of how the body responds:
- Skin Conductance Response (SCR), which displays the quick reactions. SCR’s are short spikes triggered by specific moments, showing exactly when something grabs attention or creates a reaction.
- Skin Conductance Level (SCL), which is the slow-moving baseline. This reflects overall arousal over time, showing whether someone is relaxed, stressed, or highly engaged
Integrated EDA/GSR Hardware
The iMotions EDA/GSR software supports a curated and natively integrated selection of research-grade electrodermal activity sensors, each validated for use within the iMotions Lab platform. Hardware is selected based on signal quality, sampling rate, and suitability for controlled laboratory and applied research environments.
Breakdown of Supported EDA/GSR Devices
| Device | Manufacturer | Form Factor | Notes |
| Shimmer3 GSR+ | Shimmer Research | Wrist/finger electrode | High-flexibility wearable; widely used in academic research |
| Electrodermal Activity (EDA) Sensor | Plux Biosignals | Finger electrode | Medical grade with High signal-to-noise ratio |
| BioNomadix | BIOPAC Systems | Wireless finger electrode | Research-grade signal quality; supports multi-participant setups |
| MP160 | BIOPAC Systems | Finger electrode, wired | Laboratory standard; high temporal resolution |
Popular Application Areas
Technical Specifications
- Signal measured: Skin conductance (microsiemens, μS)
- Components: Tonic SCL + phasic SCR decomposition
- Metrics: SCR amplitude, latency, rise time, recovery half-time, peak count, SCL mean and slope
- Processing: Automated artifact detection, decomposition, epoching, peak detection, binned aggregation
- Hardware: Compatible with leading research-grade EDA/GSR devices (see the hardware section for compatibility documentation)
- Synchronization: 50+ biosensors via iMotions Lab
- Stimulus locking: Automatic SCR indexing against iMotions Lab event markers
- Export: CSV output compatible with R, Python, MATLAB, SPSS
- Platform requirement: iMotions Lab
The GSR/EDA Module runs on iMotions Lab – the platform that handles stimulus delivery, multi-sensor synchronization, study management and data analysis. A license to iMotions Lab is required to run the module.
Get a Demo
We’d love to learn more about you! Talk to a specialist about your research and business needs and get a live demo of the capabilities of the iMotions Research Platform.
FAQ
Here you can find some of the questions we are asked on a regular basis. If you have questions you cannot find here, or elsewhere on our website, please contact us here.
