Smartwatches are increasingly used for stress monitoring, but their validation in immersive and ecologically valid settings remains limited. This study evaluated the EmbracePlus smartwatch’s ability to measure electrodermal activity, in particular the skin conductance level during three virtual reality stress tasks and examined whether the subjective sense of presence influences device agreement. A within-subjects design was employed with 20 healthy adults. Skin conductance level was measured using both the EmbracePlus and a reference device. A modified validation protocol was applied, assessing signal-level agreement through cross-correlation and parameter-level agreement using Bland and Altman analysis. Results indicated weak correlations between devices, with the EmbracePlus underestimating skin conductance level compared to the reference device. While both devices detected increased arousal during stress phases, presence did not significantly predict physiological changes or improve agreement. These findings emphasize the need for improved accuracy in wearable stress sensors and greater consistency in validation practices. Importantly, this study successfully applied a validation protocol developed by the broader Stress in Action project team, providing preliminary evidence that immersive environments can be used to systematically evaluate wearable stress sensors under ecologically valid conditions.
Keywords: electrodermal activity, smartwatch validation, virtual reality, presence, physiological measurement