The development and evaluation of a computer-based program to test and to teach the recognition of facial affect

Datos Bibliográficos

ID9744742
AutoresSven Bölte (0000-0002-4579-4970, Goethe University Frankfurt), Sabine Feineis-Matthews, Simone Leber, Thomas Dierks (0000-0002-4173-5308), Daniela Hubl, Fritz Poustka
Año2002
Volumen61
Número0
Páginas61-8
Fecha de publicación2002-09-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaInternational Journal of Circumpolar Health (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1239-9736 • E-ISSN: 2242-3982
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.3402/ijch.v61i0.17503
PMID12585821
OpenAlexW2038383780
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas6
Referencias citadas5

Autism is a chronic pervasive neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by the early onset of social and communicative impairments as well as restricted, ritualized, stereotypic behavior. The endophenotype of autism includes neuropsychological deficits, for instance a lack of "Theory of Mind" and problems recognizing facial affect. In this study, we report the development and evaluation of a computer-based program to teach and test the ability to identify basic facially expressed emotions. 10 adolescent or adult subjects with high-functioning autism or Asperger-syndrome were included in the investigation. A priori the facial affect recognition test had shown good psychometric properties in a normative sample (internal consistency: rtt=.91-.95; retest reliability: rtt=.89-.92). In a prepost design, one half of the sample was randomly assigned to receive computer treatment while the other half of the sample served as control group. The training was conducted for five weeks, consisting of two hours training a week. The trained individuals improved significantly on the affect recognition task, but not on any other measure. Results support the usefulness of the program to teach the detection of facial affect. However, the improvement found is limited to a circumscribed area of social-communicative function and generalization is not ensured

Audiology · Autism · Cognition · Cognitive psychology · Developmental psychology · Endophenotype · Facial expression · Generalization · Neuropsychology · Psychiatry · Autism Spectrum Disorder Research · Behavioral and Psychological Studies · Clinical Psychology · Communication · Genetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders · Medicine · Psychology