Theories of Intelligence

Face perception and facial emotional expression recognition ability: Both unique predictors of the broader autism phenotype

“…Vocabulary correlated positively with both face perception ability and facial emotional recognition ability, as hypothesised. Given the correlation between vocabulary and face perception ability was not large ( r ≈ .20), we believe the effect was simply an outcome of the well-known positive manifold typically observed across cognitive ability type tests ( Euler & McKinney, 2019 ; Jensen, 1998 ). By comparison, vocabulary was much more substantially correlated with facial emotional expression ability (i.e., r ≈ .70), as measured by RMET.…”

“…Furthermore, face perception ability is considered to be based on more primary perceptual processes, not worldly or conceptual knowledge (Adolphs, 2002). Nonetheless, a small, positive correlation between verbal ability and face perception ability may be expected, on the basis of the cognitive ability positive manifold (Euler & McKinney, 2019;Jensen, 1998). The possibility that vocabulary may be associated with an indirect effect onto BAP via face perception ability, in addition to an indirect effect via facial emotion expression recognition ability, was a research question addressed in this investigation.…”