Theory of Mind as a Mediator of Reasoning and Facial Emotion Recognition: Findings from 200 Healthy People

Abstract

ObjectiveIt was proposed that the ability to recognize facial emotions is closely related to complex neurocognitive processes and/or skills related to theory of mind (ToM). This study examines whether ToM skills mediate the relationship between higher neurocognitive functions, such as reasoning ability, and facial emotion recognition.MethodsA total of 200 healthy subjects (101 males, 99 females) were recruited. Facial emotion recognition was measured through the use of 64 facial emotional stimuli that were selected from photographs from the Korean Facial Expressions of Emotion (KOFEE). Participants were requested to complete the Theory of Mind Picture Stories task and Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM).ResultsMultiple regression analysis showed that the SPM score (t=3.19, p=0.002, β=0.22) and the overall ToM score (t=2.56, p=0.011, β=0.18) were primarily associated with a total hit rate (%) of the emotion recognition task. Hierarchical regression analysis through a three-step mediation model showed that ToM may partially mediate the relationship between SPM and performance on facial emotion recognition.ConclusionThese findings imply that higher neurocognitive functioning, inclusive of reasoning, may not only directly contribute towards facial emotion recognition but also influence ToM, which in turn, influences facial emotion recognition. These findings are particularly true for healthy young people.

Oxytocin receptor gene variants are associated with emotion recognition and resilience, but not with false‐belief reasoning performance in healthy young Korean volunteers

“…In a subset of 230 participants, affective face perception was assessed with photographs of facial expressions depicting seven emotions (happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, disgust, and contempt) and neutral faces. A total of 64 facial stimuli, eight photographs for each emotion and neutral face, were selected from among the standardized photographs within the Korean Facial Expressions of Emotion set . The participants were instructed to make a forced choice regarding which of the eight emotions was displayed on the screen.…”

“…The participants were instructed to make a forced choice regarding which of the eight emotions was displayed on the screen. The details of the task have been reported previously . The outcome measure was the percentage of correct responses, calculated as follows: (number of correct responses/total number of trials) × 100.…”

“…A total of 64 facial stimuli, eight photographs for each emotion and neutral face, were selected from among the standardized photographs within the Korean Facial Expressions of Emotion set. 17 The participants were instructed to make a forced choice regarding which of the eight emotions was displayed on the screen. The details of the task have been reported previously.…”

“…The details of the task have been reported previously. 17 The outcome measure was the percentage of correct responses, calculated as follows: (number of correct responses/total number of trials) × 100. In our sample, the mean percentage of correct responses was 83.6% (SD = 9.0).…”

The level of cognitive function and recognition of emotions in older adults

“…However, while severe states of neurodegenerative diseases have been shown to be associated with impaired recognition of emotion, knowledge of the degree to which ‘mild cognitive impairment’ is associated with impaired recognition of emotions, is limited. Studies that have included participants with mild cognitive impairment have been small in scale and have produced mixed findings [ 12 – 18 ]. Analyses of more than 4000 participants allowed us to more reliably examine the link between cognitive function and recognition of facial expressions across the full continuum of cognitive capacity, ranging from minor cognitive impairment to possible dementia.…”