Recognition Of Other Emotions Research Articles

Affective processing in aphantasia and potential overlaps with alexithymia: Mental imagery facilitates the recognition of emotions in oneself and others

We investigated affective processing in aphantasia (= absent or reduced vividness of mental imagery), considering a possible overlap with alexithymia (= deficits in identifying and describing emotions), as reduced vividness of mental imagery is also reported in alexithymia. Study 1 assessed physiological reactions and self-reported sympathy in n = 30 individuals with aphantasia and n = 75 controls when confronted to visual and verbal material showing people in distress. Results demonstrated that individuals with aphantasia show reduced emotional responses, especially to verbal stimuli. This is of particular importance given the higher prevalence of alexithymic symptoms in aphantasic participants, notably in externally-oriented thinking and difficulties in describing feelings. An additional mediation analysis confirmed that vividness of visual imagery mediated the association between alexithymia and self-reported sympathy. Study 2 extended our exploration to the recognition of emotions in others using the same sample. Despite accurate recognition of emotions, individuals with aphantasia exhibited significantly slower response times, suggesting less efficient strategies that do not involve mental imagery. Our findings highlight the crucial role of mental imagery in the interplay of cognitive functions and affective processes, demonstrating how conditions such as aphantasia and alexithymia can affect sympathy and, more generally, emotions.

XR technologies to enhance the emotional skills of people with autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review

In this paper, we present a systematic review of the applications of (1) Extended Reality (XR), (2) Augmented Reality (AR), and (3) Virtual Reality (VR) technologies to enhance emotion recognition and emotion expression in people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). ASD can affect various abilities, and poses challenges to the recognition of emotions in others, which is often referred to as “social blindness”. Treating this condition typically requires intensive one-on-one or small-group therapy sessions, which can be costly and limited in terms of availability. With the growing number of diagnoses of ASD, concerns have risen regarding a potential “lost generation” that may face difficulties in fulfilling its potential. Through this comprehensive review, we aim to provide an overview of innovative approaches that use XR technologies to improve the learning experience of individuals with ASD.

Emotional Intelligence, Resilience, and Self-Esteem as Predictors of Satisfaction with Life in University Students

The present study examined if Emotional Intelligence (EI), resilience, and self-esteem predicted life satisfaction in university students. We computed correlations between the study variables, then, we compared the differences between men and women. Finally, a simultaneous multiple regression was performed. The sample was composed of 2574 university students (715 were men and 1859 were women), whose age ranged from 18 to 30 years with a mean (M) of 20.83 and a standard deviation (SD) of 2.45. The instruments used were the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS), the Wagnild and Young Resilience Scale (ER-25), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), and the Diener Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). The results indicated that EI, self-esteem, and resilience correlated significantly and directly with satisfaction with life. Regarding sex differences, it was found that men had greater resilience, appraisal and recognition of emotion in others, and self-regulation of emotion. Women had greater appraisal and expression of emotion in self and self-esteem. The results showed that self-esteem, self-regulation of emotion, the use of emotion to facilitate performance, and acceptance of self and life as resilience factors predicted satisfaction with life. accounting for 48% of the variance. The variable that best predicted satisfaction with life was self-esteem.

Emotional Intelligence Among Residents and Relationship with Educational Academic Performance

INTRODUCTION: Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability of being aware of our feelings and the feelings of others to effectively manage our environment. We aimed to describe the EI of residents, and to understand the relationship between EI and academic performance among residents. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study based on a voluntary survey of residents in a university hospital. Sociodemographic and academic characteristics were collected. We divided residents into technique-oriented and person-oriented subgroups. EI was measured using the Wong Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS), a 16-item self-report scale defining 4 ability dimensions: expression of emotion in self, recognition of emotion in others, regulation of self-emotion, and use of emotion. Each item was answered following a 7-point Likert scale. RESULTS: A total of 56 residents were included. The mean age was 28.1 ± 2.17 years, 58.9% were women. Technique-oriented specialty was (58.9%) and person-oriented specialty (39.3%). Multivariate analysis found auto-satisfaction of provided care to be higher in residents with higher self-emotion recognition ability (β = 1.58; [0.68; 2.48]; p < 0.001), good regulation of emotions (β = 1.37; [0.23; 2.51]; p = 0.019), and better use of self-emotion (β = 1.55; [0.24; 2.87]; mp = 0.021). Self-emotion appraisal was significantly higher in technique-oriented specialties (β = 0.68; [0.18;1.18]; p = 0.008). And finally, better quality of sleep represented by more sleep hours was associated with higher ability to regulate self-emotion (β = 0.32 [−0.06; 0.58]; p = 0.017), and other’s emotion recognition (β = 0.32; [−0.01; 0.62]; p = 0.038) (Table).TableCONCLUSION: The well-being of residents influences greatly their EI, as shown with better sleep quality and work satisfaction. Higher EI predisposes residents to thrive academically. Therefore, interventions cultivating EI can optimize the wellness and academic performance of residents.

Increases in loneliness during medical school are associated with increases in individuals' likelihood of mislabeling emotions as negative.

Expressions of emotion represent an important and unique source of information about the states of others. Being able to effectively understand expressions of emotions to make inferences about others' internal mental states and use these inferences to guide decision-making and behavior is critical to navigating social relationships. Loneliness, the perception that one lacks social connection, has important functional consequences for how individuals attend to signals of emotions in others. However, it is less clear whether loneliness changes how individuals recognize emotions in others. In medical practitioners, being able to accurately recognize emotional cues from patients is critical to effectively diagnosing and reacting with care to those patients. The current study examines the relationship between changes in loneliness during medical school and students' recognition of emotion in others. Measures of loneliness and emotion recognition were collected from 122 medical students during their first 3 years of medical school at the beginning and end of each academic year. Changes in loneliness were related to changes in emotion detection, with increases in loneliness being associated with decreases in the probability of accurately discriminating sad and angry faces from other expressions, decreases in the probability of mislabeling emotion expressions as happy, and increases in the probability of mislabeling other emotional expressions as pained and angry. This study suggests that changes in loneliness during medical school are associated with increases in students' labeling emotional expressions as negative, possibly by shifting attention to cues of negative emotion and away from cues of positive emotion. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Impaired recognition of nonverbal expressions of emotions in depressed individuals

IntroductionDepressive individuals are impaired in the recognition of emotions in others’. Recent research suggests that the recognition of nonverbal expressions of emotions in other people may depend on the analysis of bodily rather than facial expressions. Therefore, we investigated if an impaired recognition of emotions by depressed individuals is body part specific. MethodsClinically diagnosed depressed and healthy matched controls were instructed to identify nonverbal expressions of positive (happiness), neutral, and negative emotions (sadness) via the face, the body, or the body and face. ResultsDepressed participants responded significantly less correctly overall when compared to non-depressed individuals. The recognition of nonverbal expressions of happiness by the body negatively predicted the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) score. DiscussionThe data revealed that the impaired recognition of nonverbal expressions of emotions in others by depressed individuals is not body part specific. Nevertheless, depressive symptoms seem to be related to the recognition of bodily expressions of happiness. Future studies must address whether impairments of depressive individuals are related to nonverbal expressions of the whole body.

Social Inferences as Mediators of Wellbeing in Depression.

BackgroundDepression is an increasingly prevalent chronic mental health condition that involves a range of potentially negative implications, in the long term. Theory of Mind (ToM) serves to form and maintain social relationships, by accurately identifying thoughts and emotions in others. Defective ToM abilities have been noted in people with a history of clinical depression.PurposeTo identify whether impairments of emotion recognition are correlated with a lower subjective feeling of wellbeing in people diagnosed with a chronic depressive illness.Patients and MethodsIn a cross-sectional analysis of a recurrent depressive disorder (RDD, as per WHO ICD-10 nosology) cohort (n=57), the BECK depression scale and the “Reading the mind in the eyes” test were employed for the diagnosis of clinical symptoms, and for the evaluation of individual ToM skills, respectively. Wellbeing was quantified using the FANLCT scale.ResultsThe wellbeing of service-users decreased significantly, in correlation with their defective emotion recognition abilities. Additionally, a low capacity for the correct perception of emotions in other people appears to significantly influence the social relationships status, with scores of 14.00 (10.00–18.50) at low capacity vs 23.00 (17.58–24.75) at normal capacity (Mann–Whitney U-test, p < 0.001). Our study findings indicate that a normal ability for a correct recognition of emotions in others is significantly and strongly correlated with adequate social relationships (Spearman r = 0.757, p < 0.05).ConclusionWellbeing is significantly correlated with the individual ability for a correct recognition of emotions in others.

Investigation of the effects of childhood sexual abuse on disease severity and cognitive functions in borderline personality disorder

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) on decision-making, facial emotion recognition, and clinical presentation of borderline personality disorder (BPD). In addition, it was examined whether certain cognitive impairments could be worsened by the presence of CSA. Method: Eighteen sexually abused BPD patients, 18 patients with BPD without CSA, and 35 healthy controls were included in the study. The Borderline Personality Inventory (BPI) and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) were administered to BPD patients. The Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB), which is used to examine decision-making and emotional recognition, was administered to the patients and healthy controls. Results: In the emotion recognition test, the mean percentages of correct fear recognition were 33.5±14.6 for patients with CSA, 25.89±9.8 for patients without CSA, 26.8±7.4 for healthy controls. The mean percentage of correct fear recognition was higher in patients with CSA than in the other groups. There was no difference in the correct recognition of other emotions between the groups. The probability of risking a 10% chance of winning in patients with/without CSA and healthy controls averaged were 0.71±0.26, 0.33±0.28, and 0.25±0.20 respectively. The average risk-taking propability in patients with CSA was significantly higher than in other groups. A significant correlation was identified between BPI and CTQ scores. Conclusion: The present study supports the fact that CSA has significant effects on the clinical presentation and neurocognitive profiles of BPD.

Cultural and Emotional Intelligence: It’s Role in the Cross-Cultural Adjustment of Filipino Expatriates in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

With the rise of globalization, labor migration is estimated to increase in the future as developed countries will experience shortages in skills of certain age brackets of the working population, thus, requiring more migrant labor in order to address this gap. Filipinos represent a considerable number of expatriates around the world. By 2018, there were 2.3 million Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW), and 24.3 % (558,900) of them worked in Saudi Arabia. These expatriates pursue economic opportunities in the Kingdom due to better job prospects and higher earning potential despite the cross-cultural adjustment challenges. This study aims to explore the influence of Cultural and Emotional intelligence in the cross-cultural adjustment of Filipino expatriates in Saudi Arabia. A survey was conducted on 483 male OFWs, both descriptive and correlational research methods were used to test the hypotheses. Correlation results showed the significant positive associations with moderately strong correlations between cultural intelligence (CQ) and the cross-cultural adjustment of Filipino expatriates in Saudi Arabia. Behavioral and motivational CQ could significantly predict the cross-cultural adjustment of Filipino expatriates. Emotional intelligence (EQ) and the expatriate Filipino’s cross-cultural adjustment in Saudi Arabia showed significant association, with Appraisal and Recognition of Emotion in Others as its strongest predictor. The Filipino expatriates’ status, first time or seasoned, significantly moderated the association between EQ factors and their cross-cultural adjustment degree. This study suggests that high CQ and EQ levels along with previous experience with the host country could serve well as important considerations in international careers. This paper contributes a new perspective to the literature on Filipino expatriate management and cross-cultural adjustment.

Genetic Correlation between Child Callous-Unemotional Behaviors and Fear Recognition Deficit: Evidence for a Neurocognitive Endophenotype.

This study investigates emotion recognition deficits as candidate neurocognitive endophenotypes for callous-unemotional (CU) behaviors. Using a twin design, we tested genetic correlations between child CU behaviors and poor processing of fearful and sad facial expressions. Participants were 504 twin pairs (209 MZ pairs; 295 DZ pairs) from the Quebec Newborn Twin Study, a longitudinal study of a population-based sample of twins. Teachers in kindergarten and first grade rated children's CU behaviors and other behavior problems (attention deficit and hyperactivity symptoms, physical aggression, and depressive symptoms). In first grade (mean age 7years), the children completed the visual subtest of the Diagnostic Analysis of Nonverbal Accuracy Scale 2 (DANVA-II) to assess emotion recognition from facial stimuli. Using structural equation modeling, we examined the genetic-environmental etiology of the association between fear/sadness recognition and child CU behaviors, controlling for other behavior problems and recognition of other emotions. We found a significant genetic correlation between poor fear recognition and CU behaviors that was independent of other behavior problems. Poor recognition of sadness was not significantly associated with CU behaviors after taking into account other behavior problems. Our results suggest that CU behaviors and fear recognition have a partly shared genetic aetiology. This provides support for poor fear recognition as a key neurocognitive endophenotype for CU behaviors. Future research should test a hypothesized causal chain from specific genes, through amygdala functioning and fear recognition, to CU behaviors, and identify specific environmental factors (including intervention) that may disrupt this chain.

Developing professional caregivers’ empathy and emotional competencies through mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR): results of two proof-of-concept studies

ObjectivesTo assess the feasibility and acceptability of a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR)-based intervention and determine if the intervention is associated with a significant signal on empathy and emotional competencies.DesignTwo pre–post...

Structural validation of the Wong-Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS): preliminary study in adults

The measurement of emotional intelligence has had many proposals in the form of self-report. One of these is the Wong-Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS), created for the job context and which evaluates valuation and the expression of self-emotions; valuation and recognition of emotions in others; regulation of one’s own emotions and the use of emotion to facilitate performance. There is little psychometric evidence regarding the Wong-Law Emotional Intelligence Scale in the Spanish speaking world, which could lead to it also being little used in research and professional practice. The objective of this study is to present the first results of the internal structure validity of the WLEIS in Peruvian adults. There were 120 participants (72 women) between 17 and 59 years old who responded to the questionnaire mediated by the internet. The internal structure was analyzed using structural equations methodology. A satisfactory structure of 4 factors and high factorial loads of items was found. The inter-factorial correlations were high or moderately high – and the internal consistency was good. It is concluded that the first results are acceptable – to assume that the Wong-Law model is also apparently generalizable.

Emotion Recognition in Blended Facial Expressions in Women with Anorexia Nervosa.

People with anorexia nervosa (AN) have difficulties in the social domain, and problems in the ability to recognise emotions in people's faces may contribute to these difficulties. This study aimed to investigate emotion recognition in women with AN and healthy controls (HC), using pictures of faces portraying blended emotions at different levels of ambiguity, which resemble real-life expressions more closely than prototypical expressions used in past studies. Seventy-seven participants (35 AN; 42 HC) completed the emotion recognition task. Results indicated that participants with AN were less accurate than HC recognising expressions of disgust, when shown less ambiguously. There were no differences in the recognition of other emotions. Participants with AN also showed response bias towards anger. These findings suggest a generally preserved ability to recognise emotions in women with AN, with the exception of disgust recognition. They also support previous findings of bias towards anger in AN patients.

Contemplative/emotion training reduces negative emotional behavior and promotes prosocial responses.

Contemplative practices are believed to alleviate psychological problems, cultivate prosocial behavior and promote self-awareness. In addition, psychological science has developed tools and models for understanding the mind and promoting well-being. Additional effort is needed to combine frameworks and techniques from these traditions to improve emotional experience and socioemotional behavior. An 8-week intensive (42 hr) meditation/emotion regulation training intervention was designed by experts in contemplative traditions and emotion science to reduce "destructive enactment of emotions" and enhance prosocial responses. Participants were 82 healthy female schoolteachers who were randomly assigned to a training group or a wait-list control group, and assessed preassessment, postassessment, and 5 months after training completion. Assessments included self-reports and experimental tasks to capture changes in emotional behavior. The training group reported reduced trait negative affect, rumination, depression, and anxiety, and increased trait positive affect and mindfulness compared to the control group. On a series of behavioral tasks, the training increased recognition of emotions in others (Micro-Expression Training Tool), protected trainees from some of the psychophysiological effects of an experimental threat to self (Trier Social Stress Test; TSST), appeared to activate cognitive networks associated with compassion (lexical decision procedure), and affected hostile behavior in the Marital Interaction Task. Most effects at postassessment that were examined at follow-up were maintained (excluding positive affect, TSST rumination, and respiratory sinus arrhythmia recovery). Findings suggest that increased awareness of mental processes can influence emotional behavior, and they support the benefit of integrating contemplative theories/practices with psychological models and methods of emotion regulation.

The Need for a Broader Approach to Emotion Regulation Research in Autism

Maladaptive emotional reactions are common among individuals diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and often impair functioning. Most research on emotional processes in ASD has focused on the recognition of emotion in others. This article argues for a broader approach to affective research in ASD, one that includes investigations into emotional reactivity and regulation. For example, research has typically looked at perseveration in ASD from a cognitive or perceptual perspective, yet perseveration also appears to have emotional aspects. This article discusses examples of emotion regulation research in other populations to illustrate how this approach could inform understanding of perseveration in ASD, particularly related to affective interference with cognitive control. More broadly, it highlights the potential contributions of emotion regulation research in ASD in relation to improving treatment specificity, increasing understanding of individual differences and diagnostic conceptualizations, and, potentially, contributing to a deeper understanding the neurobehavioral underpinnings of ASD.

Emotional Perception in Patients with Eating Disorders in Comparison with Depressed Patients

Emotion regulation is a key issue for many psychiatric and psychosomatic disorders, including eating disorders. Eating disordered patients (EDP) show high levels of depressive comorbidity, and there is much uncertainty about disorder-specific deficits. This study is aimed at delineating disorder-specific disturbances of emotional perception in EDP. Fifty-two EDP were compared with 35 depressed patients (DP) and 25 healthy controls. They rated their emotional experience when viewing visual emotional stimuli. Emphasis was placed on the patients' perception of their own emotions and not on the recognition of emotions in others. Severity of depression was assessed by the Beck Depression Inventory. Eating disordered patients and DP reported less anger than healthy controls-independent of the severity of depression. In addition, DP showed increased levels of disgust when confronted with anger stimuli. Happiness was rated less in EDP and DP, which was associated with severity of depression. There were no differences between the EDP subgroups bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa. Eating disordered patients and DP showed alterations of emotional perception of anger, an emotion which is closely linked to interpersonal difficulties. Alterations in emotional perception of EDP and DP might be due to more general emotion regulation disturbances. In order to detect more subtle differences between psychiatric subgroups, more sophisticated investigation tools are needed. Increased disgust ratings in DP merit further investigation.

Associations between feeling and judging the emotions of happiness and fear: findings from a large-scale field experiment.

BackgroundHow do we recognize emotions from other people? One possibility is that our own emotional experiences guide us in the online recognition of emotion in others. A distinct but related possibility is that emotion experience helps us to learn how to recognize emotions in childhood.Methodology/Principal FindingsWe explored these ideas in a large sample of people (N = 4,608) ranging from 5 to over 50 years old. Participants were asked to rate the intensity of emotional experience in their own lives, as well as to perform a task of facial emotion recognition. Those who reported more intense experience of fear and happiness were significantly more accurate (closer to prototypical) in recognizing facial expressions of fear and happiness, respectively, and intense experience of fear was associated also with more accurate recognition of surprised and happy facial expressions. The associations held across all age groups.ConclusionsThese results suggest that the intensity of one's own emotional experience of fear and happiness correlates with the ability to recognize these emotions in others, and demonstrate such an association as early as age 5.

The Effect of Organizational Justice on Contextual Performance, Counterproductive Work Behaviors, and Task Performance: Investigating the moderating role of ability‐based emotional intelligence

This study tested the direct effects of three dimensions of organizational justice – distributive justice, procedural justice, and interactional justice – on contextual performance, counterproductive work behaviors, and task performance. The study also examined the moderating effects of an ability measure of emotional intelligence (EI) on the justice–performance relationship. Based on the data from 211 employees across nine organizations from the private and public sectors in a developing country in the Caribbean, the results revealed that all three justice dimensions had significant effects on task performance, contextual performance, and counterproductive work behaviors in the expected direction. Composite EI and its four subdimensions (appraisal and expression of emotion in the self, appraisal and recognition of emotion in others, regulation of emotion, and use of emotion) moderated the relationship between procedural justice and contextual performance, but failed to moderate other justice–performance relationships.

Impact of Emotional Intelligence and Other Factors on Perception of Ethical Behavior of Peers

This study investigates factors impacting perceptions of ethical conduct of peers of 293 students in four US universities. Self-reported ethical behavior and recognition of emotions in others (a dimension of emotional intelligence) impacted perception of ethical behavior of peers. None of the other dimensions of emotional intelligence were significant. Age, Race, Sex, GPA, or type of major (business versus nonbusiness) did not impact perception of ethical behavior of peers. Implications of the results of the study for business schools and industry professionals are discussed.

Beyond disgust: impaired recognition of negative emotions prior to diagnosis in Huntington's disease

Previous studies of emotion recognition suggest that detection of disgust relies on processing within the basal ganglia and insula. Research involving individuals with symptomatic and pre-diagnostic Huntington's disease (HD), a disease with known basal ganglia atrophy, has generally indicated a relative impairment in recognizing disgust. However, some data have suggested that recognition of other emotions (particularly fear and anger) may also be affected in HD, and a recent study found fear recognition deficits in the absence of other emotion-recognition impairments, including disgust. To further examine emotion recognition in HD, we administered a computerized facial emotion recognition task to 475 individuals with the HD CAG expansion and 57 individuals without. Logistic regression was used to examine associations of emotion recognition performance with estimated proximity to clinical diagnosis (based on CAG repeat length and current age) and striatal volumes. Recognition of anger, disgust, fear, sadness and surprise (but not happiness) was associated with estimated years to clinical diagnosis; performance was unrelated to striatal volumes. Compared to a CAG-normal control group, the CAG-expanded group demonstrated significantly less accurate recognition of all negative emotions (anger, disgust, fear, sadness). Additionally, participants with more pronounced motor signs of HD were significantly less accurate at recognizing negative emotions than were individuals with fewer motor signs. Findings indicate that recognition of all negative emotions declines early in the disease process, and poorer performance is associated with closer proximity to clinical diagnosis. In contrast to previous results, we found no evidence of relative impairments in recognizing disgust or fear, and no evidence to support a link between the striatum and disgust recognition.