Correlations Between Psychological Status and Perception of Facial Expression

Facial affect recognition is associated with neuropsychological status and psychiatric diseases. We hypothesized that facial affect recognition is associated with psychological status and perception of other affects.

A total of 80 images depicting facial affect, including 20 Neutral, 20 Angry, 20 Fear, and 20 Sad, were screened for use in our research. A total of 100 healthy individuals were asked to rate these images using a 10-point Likert scale and complete psychological scales assessing the emotional statuses and cognitive functions.

The participants' emotional state of aggression, attention, and impulsivity may have been associated with their interpretation of the Angry facial expressions. The participants often rated the Angry facial expressions as Fear. The participants rated Fear images as Angry or Sad. In response to a Sad facial expression, the participants reported psychological statuses of attention and impulsivity which were associated with the facial expression rating. The participants rated the Sad expression as Angry or Fear.

The psychological statuses of the participants were significantly correlated with their interpretation of facial affects. In particular, a psychological state of attention was often correlated with incorrect affect ratings. Attention and impulsivity could affect the rating of the sad facial expressions.