Emotion Judgment Accuracy in Posed Versus Naturalistic Facial Expressions

• In Event: The Influence of Genes, Aggression, and Emotional Dysfunctions in Criminal Behavior

Abstract

The ability to recognize and understand facial expressions is a component of social cognition important for everyday social interaction, and inability to do so accurately could lead to impairments in broader social functioning. Psychopathic traits may impair an individual’s ability to accurately recognize facial expressions. Several studies have explored the relationship between psychopathy and impaired ability to recognize facial expressions in others, but results have varied, and most have utilized photo sets of posed facial expressions, which may lack external validity. The aim of the present study was to compare accuracy of facial emotion judgments, and the relationship to psychopathic traits, between two tasks: one comprised of posed facial expression photos, and one comprised of naturalistic facial expressions elicited from real-life stimuli. Participants included 60 adult male inmates from a county jail. Psychopathic traits were measured using the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version, as well as the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure. Results will be discussed in the context of informing methodology in future studies of emotional understanding in psychopathic traits, and may assist in clarifying past research on whether emotion processing deficits in psychopathy are generalized, or specific to fear.

Authors

• Rheanna Remmel, University of Alabama

• Andrea Glenn, University of Alabama