The pedestrian stress level is shown to significantly influence human cognitive processes and, subsequently, decision-making, e.g., the decision to select a gap and cross a street. This paper systematically studies the stress experienced by a pedestrian when crossing a street under different experimental manipulations by monitoring the ElectroDermal Activity (EDA) using the Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) sensor. To fulfil the research objectives, a dynamic and immersive virtual reality (VR) platform was used, which is suitable for eliciting and capturing pedestrian's emotional responses in conjunction with monitoring their EDA. A total of 171 individuals participated in the experiment, tasked to cross a two-way street at mid-block with no signal control. Mixed effects models were employed to compare the influence of socio-demographics, social influence, vehicle technology, environment, road design, and traffic variables on the stress levels of the participants. The results indicated that having a street median in the middle of the road operates as a refuge and significantly reduced stress. Younger participants were (18-24 years) calmer than the relatively older participants (55-65 years). Arousal levels were higher when it came to the characteristics of the avatar (virtual pedestrian) in the simulation, especially for those avatars with adventurous traits. The pedestrian location influenced stress since the stress was higher on the street while crossing than waiting on the sidewalk. Significant causes of arousal were fear of accidents and an actual accident for pedestrians. The estimated random effects show a high degree of physical and mental learning by the participants while going through the scenarios.

翻译：研究表明，行人压力水平显著影响人类认知过程，进而影响决策，例如选择间隙并横穿街道的决策。本文通过使用皮肤电反应传感器监测皮肤电活动，系统研究了在不同实验操作下行人横穿街道时所经历的压力。为实现研究目标，采用了一个动态且沉浸式的虚拟现实平台，该平台适合引发并捕捉行人的情绪反应，同时监测其皮肤电活动。共有171名个体参与了实验，任务是在无信号控制的街区中部横穿一条双向街道。采用混合效应模型比较了社会人口学特征、社会影响、车辆技术、环境、道路设计和交通变量对参与者压力水平的影响。结果表明，道路中央设置的街道分隔带可作为庇护所，显著降低了压力。年轻参与者（18-24岁）比相对年长的参与者（55-65岁）更为镇定。当涉及模拟中虚拟化身（虚拟行人）的特征时，唤醒水平更高，尤其是那些具有冒险特质的化身。行人位置影响压力，因为在街道上横穿时的压力高于在人行道上等待时。导致唤醒的重要因素包括对事故的恐惧以及行人实际遭遇的事故。估计的随机效应显示参与者在经历场景时表现出高度的生理与心理学习效应。