Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 14, 2026

The Adventures of Fundi Intervention Based on the Cognitive and Emotional Processing in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Patients
Published on: June 12, 2020
Interpretation of ambiguous facial affect in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
Alexander Schneidt1,2, Aiste Jusyte3, Michael Schönenberg4
1Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen, Schleichstr. 4, 72076, Tübingen, Germany. alexander.schneidt@uni-tuebingen.de.
Abstract:
In addition to impairments in cognitive functioning, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with deficits in interpersonal functioning as well which are assumed to stem from a distorted perception or interpretation of affective information. While previous research suggests that the decoding of negatively valenced facial stimuli is impaired, less is known about the potential interpretation biases in ADHD which are linked to other externalizing psychopathologies. The present study investigated interpretation biases in adults with ADHD (N = 65) and controls (N = 49) using ambiguous facial stimuli (angry/happy, angry/fearful, fearful/happy blends) with different proportions of each emotion. Participants indicated the dominant emotion and rated the perceived intensity of each image. While impaired processing of fearful expressions was evident in the ADHD group, the results of the current study do not provide support for an interpretation bias in adults with ADHD. These findings suggest that interpretation biases may be restricted to aggressive psychopathology and cannot be generalized to individuals with ADHD.
Related Concept Videos
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Diagnostic Criteria and Symptoms
To diagnose ADHD, symptoms must manifest before age 12 and be evident across multiple settings....
Role of Affect in Interpersonal Attraction
The Influence of Affect on Cognition
The Influence of Cognition on Affect
Muscles for Facial Expressions
Interpreting R Charts
An R chart plots the range of subsets of measurements collected from a process. Each point on the chart represents the range—defined as the difference between the maximum and minimum...

