Korkmaz Dilber, Knauth Kilian, Brands Angela, Schmeck Marie, Büning Pia, Peters Jan
Department of Psychology, Biological Psychology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Sci Rep. 2025 Aug 7;15(1):28940. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-13216-8.
Ambulatory assessment methods in psychology and clinical neuroscience are powerful research tools for collecting data outside of the laboratory. These methods encompass physiological, behavioral, and self-report measures obtained while individuals navigate in real-world environments, thereby increasing the ecological validity of experimental approaches. Despite the recent increase in applications of ambulatory physiology, data on the reliability of these measures is still limited. To address this issue, twenty-six healthy participants (N = 15 female, 18-34 years) completed an urban walking route (distance M = 2.2 km, ±SD = 0.11; duration M = 30.8 min, ±SD = 1.34; temperature M = 18.34° degree Celsius, ±SD = 1.19, Range = 16°-21° degrees Celsius) on two separate testing days, while assessing the effect of metabolic state (sated vs. fasted). GPS-location and ambulatory physiological measures (cardiovascular and electrodermal activity) were continuously recorded. The results showed no significant differences in single physiological measures between fasted and sated states. Bootstrapped test-retest reliabilities of single measures and aggregate scores derived via principal component analysis (PCA) were computed. The first principal component (PC#1) accounted for 39-45% of variance across measures. PC#1 scores demonstrated an acceptable test-retest reliability (r = .60) across testing days, exceeding the reliabilities of most individual measures (heart rate: r = .53, heart rate variability: r = .50, skin conductance level: r = .53, no. of skin conductance responses: r = .28, skin conductance response amplitude: r = .60). Results confirm that ambulatory physiological measures recorded during naturalistic navigation in urban environments exhibit acceptable test-retest reliability, in particular when compound scores across physiological measures are analyzed, a prerequisite for applications in (clinical) psychology and digital health.
心理学和临床神经科学中的动态评估方法是在实验室外收集数据的强大研究工具。这些方法包括在个体在现实世界环境中活动时获得的生理、行为和自我报告测量，从而提高了实验方法的生态效度。尽管最近动态生理学的应用有所增加，但这些测量的可靠性数据仍然有限。为了解决这个问题，26名健康参与者（N = 15名女性，18 - 34岁）在两个不同的测试日完成了一条城市步行路线（距离M = 2.2公里，±标准差 = 0.11；时长M = 30.8分钟，±标准差 = 1.34；温度M = 18.34摄氏度，±标准差 = 1.19，范围 = 16° - 21°摄氏度），同时评估代谢状态（饱腹与空腹）的影响。连续记录GPS位置和动态生理测量（心血管和皮肤电活动）。结果显示，空腹和饱腹状态下的单一生理测量没有显著差异。计算了通过主成分分析（PCA）得出的单一测量和综合分数的自举重测信度。第一个主成分（PC#1）占各测量方差的39 - 45%。PC#1分数在不同测试日显示出可接受的重测信度（r = 0.60），超过了大多数个体测量的信度（心率：r = 0.53，心率变异性：r = 0.50，皮肤电导水平：r = 0.53，皮肤电导反应次数：r = 0.28，皮肤电导反应幅度：r = 0.60）。结果证实，在城市环境中自然行走期间记录的动态生理测量表现出可接受的重测信度，特别是在分析跨生理测量的复合分数时，这是在（临床）心理学和数字健康中应用的先决条件。
