The relationship between socialisation and electrodermal activity in normal subjects

Subjects were male students scoring high, medium or low on Gough's (1975) Socialisation scale. Electrodermal activity was recorded while subjects, (a) rested, (b) listened to unsignalled low (64dB) and medium (87 dB) intensity noise blasts, and, (c) listened to a medium noise predicted by a countdown. COmpared with low scorers, high scorers emitted more non-specific electrodermal responses at rest. Trend analysis also found a linear trend such that both magnitude of electrodermal response to, and increase in skin conductance level in anticipation of the noise stimuli were greater in subjects with higher socialisation scores.