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4-point scale starting from zero representing no emotion at all to 1 representing a slight
feeling, to 2 representing a moderate feeling; 3 represents a stronger feeling and 4
represents the strongest feeling.
Emotions are also measured by heart rate, respiration rate, blood pressure and
galvanic skin response (GSR) where the electrical conductivity of the skin increases
with perspiration in a person with emotional stress.
Another measurement tool is the lie detector or polygraph, which assesses a
person's physiological processes as mentioned in the previous paragraph. It is supposed
to be an objective measurement tool for stress levels, so it records stress reactions
caused by factors other than lying. In that way it has been found to be correct 76% of
the time.
A person's emotions can also be measured by looking at the person as was done
by a study of facial expressions among New Guineans, Americans, Brazilians,
Chileans, Argentineans and Japanese. Sternberg (1998:541) reports that despite the
differences in culture there was great consensus among both adults and children in the
recognition ofhappiness and the lowest consensus for fear although the New Guineans
had had virtually no contact with westerners.
The theory that we express emotion after feeling it has been disputed by Sylvan
Tomkins in his facial feedback hypothesis, which says we experience emotion after
feedback from the face. For example, if you smile you become happy. Although this
might be acceptable to a certain extent, Sternberg (1998:548) is not convinced that the
changes in your emotions are the same as experiencing the emotion itself. There is a
weaker version of this hypothesis, which says, "facial feedback can affect the intensity
ofan emotion but does not actually produce an emotion."
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