Biosignals as Social Cues: Ambiguity and Emotional Interpretation in Social Displays of Skin Conductance

We explore the social meaning of clothing-based displays of biosignals. How do friends make sense of their own and each other's skin conductance display in the context of a conversation? We developed Hint, a dynamic thermochromic t-shirt with ambiguous patterns that change color when its wearer's skin conductance increases, an indication of sudden arousal. We investigated how pairs of friends, each wearing the shirt, conversed and interpreted the display. Participants shared interpretations and emotions such as joy and embarrassment were associated with an increase in skin conductance. Participants expressed desires for their skin conductance displays to help validate their feelings and show emotional engagement with others. We explore ambiguity in the context of clothing-based information displays and discuss how skin conductance display became part of social performance in our study. We suggest framing biosignals as social cues and begin to question what design territories this might uncover.