Sympathetic Nervous System Responses to Automated Leadership
Advisor Information
Douglas Derrick
Presentation Type
Poster
Start Date
26-3-2021 12:00 AM
End Date
26-3-2021 12:00 AM
Abstract
The sympathetic nervous system is the branch of the nervous system that is responsible for dealing with potential stressors and the “fight or flight” response. Cortical sweating is a physiological response to sympathetic arousal. Electrodermal activity measure cortical sweating is an effective measurement of the emotional state of people. Little research has been conducted to study the sympathetic response to nonhuman leaders. In order to understand the sympathetic response to nonhuman leaders, galvanic skin sensors that measure electrodermal activity were placed on the feet of participants. Participants then received instructions for their task from an automated leader in text or video embodiment. During the task, the automated leader gave feedback on the performance of the participants. While receiving instructions, participants experienced equal electrodermal activity. In contrast, participants experienced higher electrodermal activity when receiving feedback from the video leader. During concluding remarks, participants also had equal electrodermal activity. As previous research has shown electrodermal activity to be a measure of negative emotional states and heightened sympathetic arousal, video-based leaders elicit more stressful or negative feelings from their followers than text leaders. This study suggests that when no feedback is given, leadership embodiment does not alter the emotional state of followers and either can be used.
Sympathetic Nervous System Responses to Automated Leadership
The sympathetic nervous system is the branch of the nervous system that is responsible for dealing with potential stressors and the “fight or flight” response. Cortical sweating is a physiological response to sympathetic arousal. Electrodermal activity measure cortical sweating is an effective measurement of the emotional state of people. Little research has been conducted to study the sympathetic response to nonhuman leaders. In order to understand the sympathetic response to nonhuman leaders, galvanic skin sensors that measure electrodermal activity were placed on the feet of participants. Participants then received instructions for their task from an automated leader in text or video embodiment. During the task, the automated leader gave feedback on the performance of the participants. While receiving instructions, participants experienced equal electrodermal activity. In contrast, participants experienced higher electrodermal activity when receiving feedback from the video leader. During concluding remarks, participants also had equal electrodermal activity. As previous research has shown electrodermal activity to be a measure of negative emotional states and heightened sympathetic arousal, video-based leaders elicit more stressful or negative feelings from their followers than text leaders. This study suggests that when no feedback is given, leadership embodiment does not alter the emotional state of followers and either can be used.