Discoverers of the Galvanic Skin Response

This historical analysis examines the parallel discoveries of galvanic skin response by French physician Charles Féré (1888) and Russian physiologist Ivan Tarchanoff (1890), establishing the European origins of electrodermal measurement that became foundational to modern polygraph testing. The paper documents their distinct methodological approaches and traces Tarchanoff's lesser-known connections to Polish scientific institutions.

Historical research methodology analyzing primary source documents including original 1888-1890 scientific publications, biographical records, and archival materials from European scientific societies and institutions.

Widacki's 2015 historical study fills a critical gap in polygraph historiography by documenting the European discoveries that predated American polygraph development by decades. Using primary source analysis, the paper reconstructs Féré's 1888 exosomatic method measuring skin resistance changes and Tarchanoff's 1890 endosomatic approach measuring electrical potential without external current. Both researchers independently discovered that electrodermal activity responds to emotional stimuli, with Tarchanoff identifying expectant attention effects and establishing EDA's connection to sweat gland activity. The study also traces Tarchanoff's lesser-known relocation to Poland in 1905 and his contributions to scientific institutions in Kraków.

This research provides essential historical context for understanding GSR as the most diagnostic channel in modern polygraph examinations, supporting its continued use as the primary indicator in both CQT and CIT protocols.

Background & Context

The galvanic skin response (GSR) stands as one of the foundational measurement channels in modern polygraph examinations, yet the story of its discovery has often been overlooked in favor of later technological developments. This 2015 historical analysis by Jan Widacki examines the parallel discoveries made by French physician Charles Féré and Russian physiologist Ivan Tarchanoff (also spelled Tarchanow) in the late 19th century—work that established electrodermal activity as what many consider the most diagnostic recording in polygraph examinations.

Understanding the origins of GSR is crucial for the polygraph profession because the GSR has long been considered the most reliable measure in deception detection, serving as the primary indicator in both Comparison Question Tests and Concealed Information Tests. In 1890, Tarchanoff demonstrated that a galvanometer reacts to stimuli even in the absence of an external source of energy, while Féré in 1888 demonstrated that skin resistance activity could be changed by emotional stimulation.

This paper fills a critical gap in polygraph historiography by documenting the European roots of instrumental lie detection and recognizing the scientific contributions that predated the American development of the polygraph by several decades. The work also highlights Tarchanoff's lesser-known connection to Poland, where he relocated in 1905 and contributed to scientific institutions in Kraków.

Research Design & Methodology

Widacki's study employs a historical research methodology, drawing on primary source documents including original scientific publications, biographical records, and archival materials. The analysis examines Féré's 1888 publication in Comptes Rendus Societe de Biologie and Tarchanoff's 1890 paper in Pflüger's Archiv für Physiologie entitled "Galvanic Phenomena in the Human Skin in Connection with Irritation of the Sensory Organs and with Various Forms of Psychic Activity".

The paper reconstructs the experimental methods used by both pioneers. Tarchanoff employed tubular unpolarisable clay electrodes connected with the skin by hygroscopic cotton pads 10 to 15 cm long saturated with saline solution, attached to a Meissner and Meyerstein galvanometer, with deviations noted through a telescope upon a scale three metres distant. Féré used an exosomatic method involving passing a small electrical current across the skin and measuring resistance using a galvanometer.

The methodology also includes biographical research tracing Tarchanoff's career from St. Petersburg to his relocation to Poland, utilizing university records, parish registers, and contemporary scientific society publications to establish his connections to Polish scientific institutions and colleagues like Napoleon Cybulski.

Results & Key Findings

The paper establishes that two independent researchers working in 1888-1890 simultaneously discovered electrodermal activity's connection to emotional and psychological states, though using different methodological approaches. Féré found that various external stimuli influencing emotions could cause a decrease in skin's electrical resistance, with his findings published in the Société de Biologie transactions in 1888.

A year later, Tarchanoff used the endosomatic method without external current, placing two electrodes on a subject's skin and measuring changes in electrical potential after introducing physical or mental stimuli, believing EDA was related to sweat gland activity rather than blood flow. Key discoveries documented in the paper include:

• As soon as the galvanometric experiment begins there is a rapid rise with fluctuation induced by expectant attention, which Tarchanoff identified as significant
• The galvanometer proved to be a measure of emotional tone, with the response shape indicative of emotional lability
• The response has a latency of around 3 seconds that increases with repeated stimulation
• The galvanic skin response is still considered one of the best discriminators between people providing deceptive answers to test questions and non-deceptive subjects

The paper also documents Tarchanoff's relocation to Kraków in 1905 and his collaboration with Napoleon Cybulski, the creator of the Polish school of physiology and co-discoverer of adrenaline, establishing important cross-national scientific connections.

Discussion & Significance

Widacki's historical analysis reveals that the scientific foundations of modern polygraph testing were established in Europe decades before the American development of the polygraph instrument. The recognition that Féré and Tarchanoff independently discovered electrodermal phenomena challenges the predominantly American-centric narrative of polygraph history and highlights the international character of psychophysiological research in the late 19th century.

The paper's documentation of methodological differences between Féré's exosomatic approach (applying external current) and Tarchanoff's endosomatic method (measuring naturally occurring electrical potential) is particularly significant, as these two approaches continue to be used in modern electrodermal measurement. The work later influenced Carl Jung and Frederick Peterson's early 1900s research measuring EDA during word-association investigations to find objective ways to analyze emotional responses.

The findings underscore why GSR changes are still used both for classical polygraph examinations and for a variety of simplified procedures of instrumental lie detection, with much experimental research on deception detection making use of a psychogalvanometer alone rather than a multi-channel polygraph device. This historical perspective validates the continued central role of electrodermal measurement in contemporary polygraph practice.

Limitations & Considerations

As a historical study, this work is limited by the availability and accessibility of primary source materials from the late 19th century. The paper relies primarily on published scientific literature and biographical sources, with potential gaps in understanding the full experimental context and unpublished work of both Féré and Tarchanoff. Language barriers may also present challenges, as original publications were in French, Russian, and German.

The paper focuses primarily on the discoveries themselves rather than conducting a comprehensive analysis of how these findings were received, adopted, or challenged by the contemporary scientific community. Additionally, while the biographical information about Tarchanoff's connection to Poland is valuable, the paper could have explored more deeply how this relocation influenced the dissemination of GSR knowledge across Europe.

Practical Applications

For modern polygraph examiners, this historical perspective reinforces the scientific legitimacy of electrodermal measurement by demonstrating its foundations in rigorous 19th-century experimental physiology. Understanding that attention, interest, and expectation are all emotional expressions that influence GSR, with the extent of the expectation curve rising in individuals depending on their varying degree of affectivity, helps examiners interpret contemporary polygraph charts with greater nuance.

The recognition that GSR has been validated as a measure of emotional arousal for over 130 years provides important context when explaining polygraph methodology to examinees, attorneys, and courts. The dual methodological approaches pioneered by Féré and Tarchanoff also inform current debates about optimal sensor placement and measurement techniques in modern computerized polygraph systems, demonstrating that fundamental questions about electrodermal measurement have deep historical roots in systematic scientific inquiry.