Effectiveness of a short audiovisual emotion recognition training program in adults

Abstract

The ability to recognize emotions from others' nonverbal behavior (emotion recognition ability, ERA) is crucial to successful social functioning. However, currently no self-administered ERA training for non-clinical adults covering multiple sensory channels exists. We conducted four studies in a lifespan sample of participants in the laboratory and online (total N = 531) to examine the effectiveness of a short computer-based training for 14 different emotions using audiovisual clips of emotional expressions. Results showed that overall, young and middle-aged participants that had received the training scored significantly higher on facial, vocal, and audiovisual emotion recognition than the control groups. The training effect for audiovisual ERA persisted over four weeks. In older adults (59 to 90 years), however, the training had no effect. The new, brief training could be useful in applied settings such as professional training, at least for younger and middle-aged adults. In older adults, improving ERA might require a longer and more interactive intervention.

A comparison of the effectiveness of two types of deceit detection training methods in older adults

“…Performance at accurately identifying cues post-training significantly improved in both groups, suggesting that the training was successful. Past interventions aimed at improving emotion recognition accuracy with training has failed to improve the performance of older adults (Schlegel et al, 2017), so the success of the emotion recognition training in this study is a novel finding. The effect size for improvement in the verbal training ( d = 2.30) was much larger than the effect size for improvement in the facial training ( d = 0.89), suggesting greater success in training on verbal cues than on facial cues.…”

“…However, it may be difficult to improve older adults’ emotion recognition accuracy through training. Across four studies, using a lifespan sample, young and middle-aged adults improved emotion recognition accuracy after brief computerized training, while older adults’ accuracy did not improve following the training (Schlegel, Vicaria, Isaacowitz, & Hall, 2017). Given that the underlying mechanism(s) responsible for age-related differences in emotion recognition are still unclear (Isaacowitz & Stanley, 2011), it is possible that these differences are not malleable (for example, they may be rooted in brain-based functional changes associated with aging such as reduced amygdala activation in response to emotional stimuli (Cacioppo, Bernston, Bechara, Tranel, & Hawkley, 2011; Mather et al, 2004)).…”

Physicians' Interactions with Peers: Empathic Accuracy during Shift Handovers on Intensive‐Care Units

“…The finding that judgements did not improve with work experience, but rather became more biased, may have implications for organising handovers and for formal training interventions (interpersonal skills can be improved through training; e.g. Elfenbein, ; Schlegel, Vicaria, Isaacowitz, & Hall, ). This study only provides limited evidence that empathic accuracy is related to handover outcomes, and more research is necessary before speculating about practical implications.…”

Does Music Training Improve Emotion Recognition Abilities? A Critical Review

“…Emotion recognition abilities relate to personal and social adjustment in children (e.g., Blair & Coles, 2000;Bowen & Nowicki, 2007;Stevens et al, 2001) and adults (e.g., Carton et al, 1999;Dawel et al, 2012;Hall et al, 2009), and are central to the notions of emotional competence and emotional intelligence (Mayer et al, 2003;Scherer & Scherer, 2011). Intervention studies focused on emotion recognition have moreover shown that these abilities are amenable to training (e.g., Golan et al, 2010;Schlegel et al, 2017).…”