Valence in the eyes: An emotion decoding profile of adults with major depressive disorder and a history of childhood maltreatment.

BACKGROUND: Individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) and childhood maltreatment have been proposed to constitute a subgroup with worse illness course and outcomes. To elucidate a potential social cognitive vulnerability in this subgroup, this study compared the emotion decoding abilities of MDD patients with and without a history of childhood maltreatment. METHODS: Participants with a diagnosis of MDD were recruited from nationwide mental health organizations. Emotion decoding abilities were assessed using the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test, while childhood maltreatment was measured with the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire. RESULTS: The MDD patients with a history of childhood maltreatment exhibited poorer emotion decoding abilities than MDD patients without such past. This difference applied specifically to the decoding of positive and negative emotions, while no group differences emerged for the decoding of neutral emotions. When specific maltreatment types were considered as predictors only emotional neglect was associated with lower emotion decoding abilities. These associations remained when adjusting for demographic and clinical covariates. CONCLUSIONS: By indicating that emotion decoding difficulties characterize the MDD subgroup with childhood maltreatment, the findings highlight a potential vulnerability that merits further examination in terms of its developmental antecedents and prognostic relevance.

Neuropsychological Performance, Substance Misuse, and Recidivism in Intimate Partner Violence Perpetrators.

Previous research has pointed out the importance of neuropsychological impairments in intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetrators for reoffending/recidivism once treatment ends. However, less is known about whether substance misuse is associated with impairments or deficits, which facilitate recidivism. In this study, we first aimed to assess whether IPV perpetrators with (n = 104) and without (n = 120) substance misuse showed differences in specific neuropsychological variables in comparison with non-violent men (n = 82). Second, we examined whether there were differences in IPV perpetrators' recidivism and whether these differences were explained by neuropsychological performance. Our results revealed that IPV perpetrators with substance misuse showed worse cognitive performance than controls. Furthermore, we also found differences between IPV perpetrators without substance misuse and controls, but only in terms of executive functioning. There were no differences in neuropsychological performance between the two groups of IPV perpetrators, although those with substance misuse presented higher recidivism rates than those without substance misuse. Finally, cognitive flexibility, verbal fluency, and worse attention functioning were related to high recidivism in both groups of IPV perpetrators. This study underlies the importance of performing neuropsychological assessments during the initial stages of intervention programs for IPV perpetrators in order to design coadjutant neuropsychological/cognitive training to address not only the psychological needs (including substance misuse) of IPV perpetrators, but also their neuropsychological needs.

La investigación previa ha puesto de manifiesto la importancia de los déficits neuropsicológicos para la reincidencia en los hombres penados por violencia contra la mujer en las relaciones de pareja (o maltratadores) una vez que han finalizado el tratamiento. Sin embargo, disponemos de un menor conocimiento sobre si el abuso de sustancias se relacionaría con los déficits neuropsicológicos, lo que, a su vez, facilitaría la reincidencia por parte de los maltratadores. Por lo tanto, el primer objetivo de este estudio fue el de analizar si existían diferencias entre un grupo de maltratadores con abuso de sustancias (n = 104) y otro sin consumo de sustancias (n = 120) en comparación con un grupo de hombres no violentos (n = 82). En segundo lugar, examinamos si existían diferencias en la reincidencia entre los grupos de maltratadores y si estas diferencias se explicaban por su funcionamiento neuropsicológico. Nuestros resultados pusieron de manifiesto que los maltratadores con abuso de sustancias mostraron un peor rendimiento cognitivo que los controles. Además, también encontramos diferencias entre el grupo de maltratadores sin abuso de sustancias y los controles, pero solo en las funciones ejecutivas. Del mismo modo, no hubo diferencias en el rendimiento neuropsicológico entre los dos grupos de maltratadores, aunque aquellos con abuso de sustancias presentaron tasas de reincidencia más altas que aquellos sin consumo de sustancias. Finalmente, la flexibilidad cognitiva, la fluidez verbal y el peor funcionamiento de la atención se relacionaron con una alta reincidencia en ambos grupos de maltratadores. Este estudio subraya la importancia de realizar evaluaciones neuropsicológicas durante las etapas iniciales de los programas de intervención para los maltratadores con el fin de diseñar programas neuropsicológicos o de entrenamiento cognitivo para abordar no solo las necesidades psicológicas (incluido el abuso de sustancias) de los maltratadores, sino también sus necesidades neuropsicológicas.

Emotion recognition accuracy only weakly predicts empathic accuracy in a standard paradigm and in real life interactions.

The relationship between decoding ability (Emotion recognition accuracy, ERA) for negative and positive emotion expressions from only video, only audio and audio-video stimuli and the skill to understand peoples' unspoken thoughts and feelings (Empathic accuracy, EA) was tested. Participants (N = 101) from three groups (helping professionals with and without therapy training as well as non-helping professionals) saw or heard recordings of narrations of a negative event by four different persons. Based on either audio-video or audio-only recordings, the participants indicated for given time points what they thought the narrator was feeling and thinking while speaking about the event. A Bayesian regression model regressing group and ERA scores on EA scores was showing weak support only for the EA scores for ratings of unspoken feelings from audio only recordings. In a subsample, the quality of self-experienced social interactions in everyday life was assessed with a diary. The analysis of ERA and EA scores in relation to diary scores did not indicate much correspondence. The results are discussed in terms of relations between skills in decoding emotions using different test paradigms and contextual factors.

Neuropsychological Performance, Substance Misuse, and Recidivism in Intimate Partner Violence Perpetrators / [Rendimiento neuropsicológico, abuso de sustancias y reincidencia en hombres penados por violencia contra la mujer en las relaciones de pareja]

Previous research has pointed out the importance of neuropsychological impairments in intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetrators for reoffending/recidivism once treatment ends. However, less is known about whether substance misuse is associated with impairments or deficits, which facilitate recidivism. In this study, we first aimed to assess whether IPV perpetrators with (n = 104) and without (n = 120) substance misuse showed differences in specific neuropsychological variables in comparison with non-violent men (n = 82). Second, we examined whether there were differences in IPV perpetrators’ recidivism and whether these differences were explained by neuropsychological performance. Our results revealed that IPV perpetrators with substance misuse showed worse cognitive performance than controls. Furthermore, we also found differences between IPV perpetrators without substance misuse and controls, but only in terms of executive functioning. There were no differences in neuropsychological performance between the two groups of IPV perpetrators, although those with substance misuse presented higher recidivism rates than those without substance misuse. Finally, cognitive flexibility, verbal fluency, and worse attention functioning were related to high recidivism in both groups of IPV perpetrators. This study underlies the importance of performing neuropsychological assessments during the initial stages of intervention programs for IPV perpetrators in order to design coadjutant neuropsychological/cognitive training to address not only the psychological needs (including substance misuse) of IPV perpetrators, but also their neuropsychological needs.(AU)

La investigación previa ha puesto de manifiesto la importancia de los déficits neuropsicológicos para la reincidencia en los hombres penados por violencia contra la mujer en las relaciones de pareja (o maltratadores) una vez que han finalizado el tratamiento. Sin embargo, disponemos de un menor conocimiento sobre si el abuso de sustancias se relacionaría con los déficits neuropsicológicos, lo que, a su vez, facilitaría la reincidencia por parte de los maltratadores. Por lo tanto, el primer objetivo de este estudio fue el de analizar si existían diferencias entre un grupo de maltratadores con abuso de sustancias (n = 104) y otro sin consumo de sustancias (n = 120) en comparación con un grupo de hombres no violentos (n = 82). En segundo lugar, examinamos si existían diferencias en la reincidencia entre los grupos de maltratadores y si estas diferencias se explicaban por su funcionamiento neuropsicológico. Nuestros resultados pusieron de manifiesto que los maltratadores con abuso de sustancias mostraron un peor rendimiento cognitivo que los controles. Además, también encontramos diferencias entre el grupo de maltratadores sin abuso de sustancias y los controles, pero solo en las funciones ejecutivas. Del mismo modo, no hubo diferencias en el rendimiento neuropsicológico entre los dos grupos de maltratadores, aunque aquellos con abuso de sustancias presentaron tasas de reincidencia más altas que aquellos sin consumo de sustancias. Finalmente, la flexibilidad cognitiva, la fluidez verbal y el peor funcionamiento de la atención se relacionaron con una alta reincidencia en ambos grupos de maltratadores. Este estudio subraya la importancia de realizar evaluaciones neuropsicológicas durante las etapas iniciales de los programas de intervención para los maltratadores con el fin de diseñar programas neuropsicológicos o de entrenamiento cognitivo para abordar no solo las necesidades psicológicas (incluido el abuso de sustancias) de los maltratadores...(AU)

Sound gaps boost emotional audiovisual integration independent of attention: Evidence from an ERP study.

The emotion discrimination paradigm was adopted to study the effect of interrupted sound on visual emotional processing under different attentional states. There were two experiments: Experiment 1: judging facial expressions (explicit task), Experiment 2: judging the position of a bar (implicit task). In Experiment 1, ERP results showed that there was a sound gap accelerating the effect of P1 present only under neutral faces. In Experiment 2, the accelerating effect (P1) existed regardless of the emotional condition. Combining two experiments, P1 findings suggest that sound gap enhances bottom-up attention. The N170 and late positive component (LPC) were found to be regulated by emotion face in both experiments, with fear over the neutral. Comparing the two experiments, the explicit task induced a larger LPC than the implicit task. Overall, sound gaps boosted the audiovisual integration by bottom-up attention in early integration, while cognitive expectations led to top-down attention in late stages.

Acceptability of Intimate Partner Violence among Male Offenders: The Role of Set-Shifting and Emotion Decoding Dysfunctions as Cognitive Risk Factors.

Attitudes towards the acceptability of intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) contribute to an increased risk of IPVAW perpetration, and these attitudes are common among IPVAW offenders. Research suggests that IPVAW offenders present cognitive deficits related to information processing. Little is known, however, about how these deficits are related to the acceptability of IPVAW. The main aim of this study was to explore the relationship between specific cognitive deficits (i.e., deficits in attention switching, set-shifting, and emotion decoding abilities) and the acceptability of IPVAW in a sample of 84 IPVAW offenders. Results revealed that IPVAW offenders with deficits in attention switching, set-shifting, and emotion decoding abilities demonstrated greater acceptability of IPVAW, and these relationships remained significant after controlling for socio-demographic variables (i.e., age and educational level) and drug consumption. These results highlight the role of cognitive processes in maintaining attitudes of acceptability of IPVAW. Thus, the findings may guide professionals in developing specific intervention programs focused on improving cognitive abilities, in order to reduce the acceptability of IPVAW.

Improving empathy with motivational strategies in batterer intervention programmes: Results of a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES: Empathy (i.e., the ability to decode emotions, as well as cognitive and emotional empathy) is involved in moral reasoning, prosocial behaviour, social and emotional adequacy, mood and behaviour regulation. Hence, alterations in these functions could reduce behaviour control and the adoption of specific types of violence such as intimate partner violence (IPV). Although interventions for IPV perpetrators focus on reducing IPV risk factors and increasing protective factors to prevent this kind of violence, the study of the effectiveness of these programmes in promoting changes in empathy (cognitive and emotional) has been neglected. DESIGN: Hence, the main aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of two different modalities of IPV intervention programmes (Standard Batterer Intervention Programs [SBIP] vs. SBIP + Individualized Motivational Plan [IMP]) in promoting empathic improvements after both interventions. METHOD: Participants were randomly assigned to receive SBIP (n = 40) or SBIP + IMP (n = 53). The effectiveness of the intervention in the total sample and the group effects were evaluated with general linear model repeated-measures ANOVA. RESULTS: Results revealed that only the IPV perpetrators who received the SBIP + IMP were more accurate in decoding emotional facial signals and presented better cognitive empathy (perspective taking) after the intervention programme. CONCLUSIONS: Our study reinforces the view that different modalities of IPV intervention might lead to different cognitive outcomes after the intervention. Thus, these results may help professionals to develop specific intervention programmes focused on improving cognitive abilities in order to reduce IPV recidivism. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Interventions for batterers' neglected empathic changes after these programmes. Not enough randomized controlled trials for these kinds of interventions. An improvement in the ability to decode emotions after the intervention programme. An improvement in cognitive empathy (perspective taking) after the intervention programme. Different modalities of IPV intervention might lead to different cognitive outcomes after the intervention.

Decoding emotions in expressive music performances: A multi-lab replication and extension study.

With over 560 citations reported on Google Scholar by April 2018, a publication by Juslin and Gabrielsson (1996) presented evidence supporting performers' abilities to communicate, with high accuracy, their intended emotional expressions in music to listeners. Though there have been related studies published on this topic, there has yet to be a direct replication of this paper. A replication is warranted given the paper's influence in the field and the implications of its results. The present experiment joins the recent replication effort by producing a five-lab replication using the original methodology. Expressive performances of seven emotions (e.g. happy, sad, angry, etc.) by professional musicians were recorded using the same three melodies from the original study. Participants (N = 319) were presented with recordings and rated how well each emotion matched the emotional quality using a 0-10 scale. The same instruments from the original study (i.e. violin, voice, and flute) were used, with the addition of piano. In an effort to increase the accessibility of the experiment and allow for a more ecologically-valid environment, the recordings were presented using an internet-based survey platform. As an extension to the original study, this experiment investigated how musicality, emotional intelligence, and emotional contagion might explain individual differences in the decoding process. Results found overall high decoding accuracy (57%) when using emotion ratings aggregated for the sample of participants, similar to the method of analysis from the original study. However, when decoding accuracy was scored for each participant individually the average accuracy was much lower (31%). Unlike in the original study, the voice was found to be the most expressive instrument. Generalised Linear Mixed Effects Regression modelling revealed that musical training and emotional engagement with music positively influences emotion decoding accuracy.

Emotion Decoding and Incidental Processing Fluency as Antecedents of Attitude Certainty.

Previous research demonstrates that attitude certainty influences the degree to which an attitude changes in response to persuasive appeals. In the current research, decoding emotions from facial expressions and incidental processing fluency, during attitude formation, are examined as antecedents of both attitude certainty and attitude change. In Experiment 1, participants who decoded anger or happiness during attitude formation expressed their greater attitude certainty, and showed more resistance to persuasion than participants who decoded sadness. By manipulating the emotion decoded, the diagnosticity of processing fluency experienced during emotion decoding, and the gaze direction of the social targets, Experiment 2 suggests that the link between emotion decoding and attitude certainty results from incidental processing fluency. Experiment 3 demonstrated that fluency in processing irrelevant stimuli influences attitude certainty, which in turn influences resistance to persuasion. Implications for appraisal-based accounts of attitude formation and attitude change are discussed.

Improvements in Empathy and Cognitive Flexibility after Court-Mandated Intervention Program in Intimate Partner Violence Perpetrators: The Role of Alcohol Abuse.

Research assessing the effectiveness of intervention programs for intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetrators has increased considerably in recent years. However, most of it has been focused on the analysis of psychological domains, neglecting neuropsychological variables and the effects of alcohol consumption on these variables. This study evaluated potential neuropsychological changes (emotional decoding, perspective taking, emotional empathy and cognitive flexibility) and their relationship with alcohol consumption in a mandatory intervention program for IPV perpetrators, as well as how these variables affect the risk of IPV recidivism. The sample was composed of 116 individuals with high alcohol (n = 55; HA) and low alcohol (n = 61; LA) consumption according to self-report screening measures who received treatment in a IPV perpetrator intervention program developed in Valencia (Spain). IPV perpetrators with HA consumption were less accurate in decoding emotional facial signals and adopting others' perspective, and less cognitively flexible than those with LA consumption before the IPV intervention. Further, the effectiveness of the intervention program was demonstrated, with increases being observed in cognitive empathy (emotional decoding and perspective taking) and in cognitive flexibility. Nevertheless, the HA group showed a smaller improvement in these skills and higher risk of IPV recidivism than the LA group. Moreover, improvement in these skills was related to a lower risk of IPV recidivism. The study provides guidance on the targeting of cognitive domains, which are key factors for reducing IPV recidivism.

Older adults' decoding of emotions: age-related differences in interpreting dynamic emotional displays and the well-preserved ability to recognize happiness.

AIM: Although the ability to recognize emotions through bodily and facial muscular movements is vital to everyday life, numerous studies have found that older adults are less adept at identifying emotions than younger adults. The message gleaned from research has been one of greater decline in abilities to recognize specific negative emotions than positive ones. At the same time, these results raise methodological issues with regard to different modalities in which emotion decoding is measured. The main aim of the present study is to identify the pattern of age differences in the ability to decode basic emotions from naturalistic visual emotional displays. METHOD: The sample comprised a total of 208 adults from Greece, aged from 18 to 86 years. Participants were examined using the Emotion Evaluation Test, which is the first part of a broader audiovisual tool, The Awareness of Social Inference Test. The Emotion Evaluation Test was designed to examine a person's ability to identify six emotions and discriminate these from neutral expressions, as portrayed dynamically by professional actors. RESULTS: The findings indicate that decoding of basic emotions occurs along the broad affective dimension of uncertainty, and a basic step in emotion decoding involves recognizing whether information presented is emotional or not. Age was found to negatively affect the ability to decode basic negatively valenced emotions as well as pleasant surprise. Happiness decoding is the only ability that was found well-preserved with advancing age. CONCLUSION: The main conclusion drawn from the study is that the pattern in which emotion decoding from visual cues is affected by normal ageing depends on the rate of uncertainty, which either is related to decoding difficulties or is inherent to a specific emotion.