Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 20, 2026

Measurement of Fronto-limbic Activity Using an Emotional Oddball Task in Children with Familial High Risk for Schizophrenia
Published on: December 2, 2015
Deficits in emotional awareness in schizophrenia and their relationship with other measures of functioning
Gaston Baslet1, Lindsay Termini, Ellen Herbener
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA. gbaslet@uic.edu
Abstract:
Conscious awareness of emotion is adaptive and its disruption in schizophrenia can impact social functioning. This study assessed levels of emotional awareness for self and others in social scenarios (Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale) in 21 individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) and 20 healthy individuals. Individuals with SSD had lower levels of emotional awareness for others in complex social scenarios, but not simple social scenarios; no difference was found in emotional awareness for self. Higher levels of emotional awareness were associated with better quality of life in patients. Patients also reported higher social anhedonia. Healthy individuals' higher levels of emotional awareness for self were associated with lower anhedonia, but this relationship was not found in SSD patients. Individuals with schizophrenia have particular difficulty anticipating others' emotional responses in complex social situations. Further, this deficit is independent of anhedonia in SSD patients, indicating a systemic disruption in the integration of emotional processing.
Related Concept Videos
Negative and Cognitive Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Negative Symptoms
Negative symptoms of schizophrenia manifest as deficits in normal emotional and behavioral functioning, profoundly impacting daily life. Individuals with schizophrenia often display a flat affect, characterized by a near-total absence of emotional expression,...
Personality Disorders: Schizotypal and Histrionic
Schizotypal Personality Disorder: Eccentric Behavior and Social Withdrawal
Schizotypal personality disorder is marked by odd or eccentric...
Psychological and Sociocultural Causes of Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Self-Discrepancy and Its Effects
Personality Disorders: Paranoid and Schizoid
Paranoid Personality Disorder
Paranoid personality disorder is...

