Deception detection and emotion recognition: Investigating F.A.C.E. software.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Psychotherapy Research
• Nonverbal Communication

Background:

• Deception detection in psychotherapy is a growing area of interest.
• Micro expression training software is proposed as a tool to enhance emotion recognition and deception detection abilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of micro expression training software on deception detection and emotion recognition.
• To assess if anxiety levels influence deception detection or mediate emotion recognition.

Main Methods:

• Recruited counseling psychology graduate and undergraduate students.
• Randomly assigned participants to a training group (receiving micro expression training) or a control group.
• Administered pre- and post-test measures for deception detection and emotion recognition.

Main Results:

• No significant difference in deception detection was found between the training and control groups.
• The training group showed significant improvements in recognizing contempt, anger, and fear.
• Anxiety (state and trait) did not predict deception detection or mediate emotion recognition.
• No significant differences were observed between graduate and undergraduate students.

Conclusions:

• Micro expression training software (F.A.C.E.) was ineffective in enhancing deception detection.
• The software effectively improved emotion recognition capabilities.
• Findings suggest implications for training protocols, clinical practice, and future research in psychotherapy.