Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-mkpzs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T18:22:36.810Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Voice, Body Cues and Facial Expression in Emotion Recognition of Spanish Children and Adolescents: The Validation of Bell-Lysaker Emotion Recognition Test

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 February 2022

M. Acebo García-Guerrero Open the ORCID record for M. Acebo García-Guerrero [Opens in a new window] ,
Javier Peña Open the ORCID record for Javier Peña [Opens in a new window] ,
Leire Zubiaurre-Elorza Open the ORCID record for Leire Zubiaurre-Elorza [Opens in a new window] ,
Danele Benítez ,
Anais M. Hernández ,
Ainara Oribe  and
Natalia Ojeda Open the ORCID record for Natalia Ojeda [Opens in a new window]
M. Acebo García-Guerrero
Affiliation:
Universidad de Deusto (Spain)
Javier Peña
Affiliation:
Universidad de Deusto (Spain)
Leire Zubiaurre-Elorza
Affiliation:
Universidad de Deusto (Spain)
Danele Benítez
Affiliation:
Universidad de Deusto (Spain)
Anais M. Hernández
Affiliation:
Universidad de Deusto (Spain)
Ainara Oribe
Affiliation:
Universidad de Deusto (Spain)
Natalia Ojeda*
Affiliation:
Universidad de Deusto (Spain)
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Natalia Ojeda. Universidad de Deusto. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud. Departamento de Psicología. Avda. de las Universidades, 24. 48007, Bilbao (Spain). E-mail: nojeda@deusto.es
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Emotion recognition has been traditionally measured trough the recognition of emotional expressions of static faces. Studies suggest that emotion recognition is progressively acquired from early stages in our infancy. However, the literature regarding other emotional domains such as voice or body movements is scarce. Additionally, the number of tools that integrate several domains is limited, especially in children and adolescents, and none of them tested in Spanish samples. Therefore, this study aimed to define the psychometric properties of the Bell-Lysaker Emotion Recognition Task (BLERT) and a new-designed alternate version providing normative data in Spanish children and adolescents (from 8 to 15 years old corresponding to 3th). Moreover, we aim to describe the emotional acquisition trajectory of children and adolescents with a tool that integrates voice, face expressions and body movements. For that purpose, BLERT was translated into Spanish (BLERT–SI) and an alternate version was created (BLERT–SII). A total of 545 children and adolescents from 8 to 15 year-old participated in the study (250 male/295 female). All participants fulfilled BLERT–SI and BLERT–SII within two weeks of difference. Order of presentation was counterbalanced. Results showed that BLERT–SI and SII have good internal consistency (α = .70 and 71 respectively). Test-retest reliability showed a moderate correlation (r = .45; p < .001). Percentages equivalences per age are provided. Age correlated with BLERT–SI (r = .31; p < .001) and BLERT–SII (r = .21; p < .001), showing a progressive acquisition and development of emotion recognition during this period. BLERT–SI and SII are useful tools when studying the follow-up of children and adolescents.

Keywords

BLERTdevelopmentemotion recognitionsocial cognitionvalidation
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 25 , 2022 , e7
Copyright
© Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2022

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

Conflicts of Interest: None.

Funding Statement: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

Acknowledgements: We would like to express our gratitude to Morris D. Bell and Paul Lysaker, original authors of BLERT for transferring the scale for their translation into Spanish. We would like to show our appreciation to Julian Wright from the Language Editing Service of Deusto University for revising the English of this manuscript.

References

Anda, R. F., Felitti, V. J., Bremner, J. D., Walker, J. D., Whitfield, C., Perry, B. D., Dube, S. R., & Giles, W. H. (2006). The enduring effects of abuse and related adverse experiences in childhood: A convergence of evidence from neurobiology and epidemiology. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, 256(3), 174–186. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-005-0624-4CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Arslan, G., Allen, K.-A., & Tanhan, A. (2021). School bullying, mental health, and wellbeing in adolescents: Mediating impact of positive psychological orientations. Child Indicators Research, 14(3), 1007–1026. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-020-09780-2CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bänziger, T., Grandjean, D., & Scherer, K. R. (2009). Emotion recognition from expressions in face, voice, and body: The Multimodal Emotion Recognition Test (MERT). Emotion, 9(5), 691–704. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017088CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., Hill, J., Raste, Y., & Plumb, I. (2001). The “Reading the Mind in the Eyes” Test revised version: A study with normal adults, and adults with Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 42(2), 241–251. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021963001006643CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bell, M., Brysonb, G., & Lysaker, P. (1997). Positive and negative affect recognition in schizophrenia : A comparison with substance abuse and normal control subjects. Psychiatry Research, 73(1–2), 73–82. http://doi.org/10.1016/S0165-1781(97)00111-XCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cadesky, E. B., Mota, V. L., & Schachar, R. J. (2000). Beyond words: How do children with ADHD and/or conduct problems process nonverbal information about affect? Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 39(9), 1160–1167. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004583-200009000-00016CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carton, J. S., Kessler, E. A., & Pape, C. L. (1999). Nonverbal decoding skills and relationship well-being in adults. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 23(1), 91–100. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021339410262CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chronaki, G., Hadwin, J. A., Garner, M., Maurage, P., & Sonuga-Barke, E. J. S. (2015). The development of emotion recognition from facial expressions and non-linguistic vocalizations during childhood. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 33(2), 218–236. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjdp.12075CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cooper, K., & Stewart, K. (2021). Does household income affect children’s outcomes? A systematic review of the evidence. Child Indicators Research, 14(3), 981–1005. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-020-09782-0CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Corcoran, C. M., Keilp, J. G., Kayser, J., Klim, C., Butler, D. P., Bruder, G. E., Gur, R. C., & Javitt, D. C. (2015). Emotion recognition deficits as predictors of transition in individuals at clinical high risk for schizophrenia: A neurodevelopmental perspective. Psychological Medicine, 45(14), 2959–2973. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291715000902CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dawel, A., O’Kearney, R., McKone, E., & Palermo, R. (2012). Not just fear and sadness: Meta-analytic evidence of pervasive emotion recognition deficits for facial and vocal expressions in psychopathy. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 36(10), 2288–2304. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2012.08.006CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
de Gelder, B., de Borst, A. W., & Watson, R. (2015). The perception of emotion in body expressions. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science, 6(2), 149–158. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcs.1335Google ScholarPubMed
Denham, S. A., Bassett, H. H., Way, E., Mincic, M., Zinsser, K., & Graling, K. (2012). Preschoolers’ emotion knowledge: Self-regulatory foundations, and predictions of early school success. Cognition & Emotion, 26(4), 667–679. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2011.602049CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Di Maggio, R., Zappulla, C., Pace, U., & Izard, C. E. (2017). Adopting the emotions course in the Italian context: A pilot study to test effects on social-emotional competence in preschool children. Child Indicators Research, 10(2), 571–590. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-016-9387-xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Diedenhofen, B., & Musch, J. (2016). Cocron : A web interface and R Package for the statistical comparison of Cronbach ’ s Alpha coefficients. International Journal of Internet Science, 11(1), 51–60.Google Scholar
Ekman, P. (1976). Pictures of facial affect. Consulting Psychologists Press.Google Scholar
Ekman, P., & Friesen, W. V. (2003). Unmasking the face: A guide to recognizing emotions from facial clues. Malor Book.Google Scholar
Fridenson-Hayo, S., Berggren, S., Lassalle, A., Tal, S., Pigat, D., Bölte, S., Baron-Cohen, S., & Golan, O. (2016). Basic and complex emotion recognition in children with autism: Cross-cultural findings. Molecular Autism, 7(1), Article 52. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13229-016-0113-9CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Frith, C. (2009). Role of facial expressions in social interactions. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 364(1535), 3453–3458. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2009.0142CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gil, S., Aguert, M., Bigot, L. L., Lacroix, A., & Laval, V. (2014). Children’s understanding of others’ emotional states: Inferences from extralinguistic or paralinguistic cues? International Journal of Behavioral Development, 38(6), 539–549. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025414535123CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gil, S., Hattouti, J., & Laval, V. (2016). How children use emotional prosody: Crossmodal emotional integration? Developmental Psychology, 52(7), 1064–1072. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000121CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Golarai, G., Grill-Spector, K., & Reiss, A. L. (2006). Autism and the development of face processing. Clinical Neuroscience Research, 6(3–4), 145–160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cnr.2006.08.001CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goodenough, F. L. (1931). Anger in young children. University of Minnesota Press.Google Scholar
Grosbras, M.-H., Ross, P. D., & Belin, P. (2018). Categorical emotion recognition from voice improves during childhood and adolescence. Scientific Reports, 8(1), Article 14791. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-32868-3CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gur, R. C., Sara, R., Hagendoorn, M., Marom, O., Hughett, P., Macy, L., Turner, T., Bajcsy, R., Posner, A., & Gur, R. E. (2002). A method for obtaining 3-dimensional facial expressions and its standardization for use in neurocognitive studies. Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 115(2), 137–143. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0165-0270(02)00006-7CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heberlein, A. S., & Atkinson, A. P. (2009). Neuroscientific evidence for simulation and shared substrates in emotion recognition: Beyond faces. Emotion Review, 1(2), 162–177. https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073908100441CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herba, C., & Phillips, M. (2004). Annotation: Development of facial expression recognition from childhood to adolescence: Behavioral and neurological perspectives. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 45(7), 1185–1198. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2004.00316.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hess, U., Adams, R. B., Grammer, K., & Kleck, R. E. (2009). Face gender and emotion expression: Are angry women more like men? Journal of Vision, 9(12), 1–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hock, A., Oberst, L., Jubran, R., White, H., Heck, A., & Bhatt, R. S. (2017). Integrated emotion processing in infancy: Matching of faces and bodies. Infancy, 22(5), 608–625. https://doi.org/10.1111/infa.12177CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Holodynski, M., & Seeger, D. (2019). Expressions as signs and their significance for emotional development. Developmental Psychology, 55(9), 1812–1829. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000698CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Izard, C. (2007). Basic emotions, natural kinds, emotion schemas, and a new paradigm. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 2(3), 260–280. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6916.2007.00044.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Izard, C., Fine, S., Schultz, D., Mostow, A., Ackerman, B., & Youngstrom, E. (2001). Emotion knowledge as a predictor of social behavior and academic competence in children at risk. Psychological Science, 12(1), 18–23. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9280.00304CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jones, M. C. (1924). A laboratory study of fear: The case of Peter. The Pedagogical Seminary and Journal of Genetic Psychology, 31(4), 308–315. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856559.1924.9944851Google Scholar
Kilford, E. J., Garret, E., & Blakemore, S.-J. (2016). The development of social cognition in adolescence: An integrated perspective. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 70, 106–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.08.016CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lawrence, K., Campbell, R., & Skuse, D. (2015). Age, gender, and puberty influence the development of facial emotion recognition. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, Article 761. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00761CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lindner, J. L., & Rosén, L. A. (2006). Decoding of emotion through facial expression, prosody and verbal content in children and adolescents with Asperger’s syndrome. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36(6), 769–777. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-006-0105-2CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ludwig, K. A., Pinkham, A. E., Harvey, P. D., Kelsven, S., & Penn, D. L. (2017). Social cognition psychometric evaluation (SCOPE) in people with early psychosis: A preliminary study. Schizophrenia Research, 190, 136–143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2017.03.001CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Manstead, A. S. R. (2018). The psychology of social class: How socioeconomic status impacts thought, feelings, and behavior. British Journal of Social Psychology, 57(2), 267–291. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12251CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayer, J., Salovery, P., & Caruso, D. (2009). Test de Inteligencia Emocional de Mayer, Salovey y Caruso [The Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test]. TEA Ediciones.Google Scholar
McCann, J., Peppé, S., Gibbon, F. E., O’Hare, A., & Rutherford, M. (2007). Prosody and its relationship to language in school-aged children with high-functioning autism. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 42(6), 682–702. https://doi.org/10.1080/13682820601170102CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte (2014, February 28). Real Decreto 126/2014 por el que se establece el currículo básico de la Educación Primaria., Pub. L. Boletín Oficial del Estado 61561, No. BOE 24/01/2020.Google Scholar
Molinero Caparrós, C., Bonete, S., Gómez-Pérez, M., & Calero, D. (2015). Estudio normativo del “Test de 60 Caras de Ekman” para Adolescentes Españoles [A normative study of the Ekman 60-Faces Test in Spanish Adolescents]. Behavioral Psychology/ Psicologia Conductual, 23(2), 361–371.Google Scholar
Nowicki, S., & Duke, M. P. (1994). Individual differences in the nonverbal communication of affect: The diagnostic analysis of Nonverbal Accuracy Scale. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 18(1), 9–35. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02169077CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pinkham, A. E., Penn, D. L., Green, M. F., Buck, B., Healey, K., & Harvey, P. D. (2014). The Social Cognition Psychometric Evaluation Study: Results of the expert survey and RAND Panel. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 40(4), 813–823. https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbt081CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rosenthal, R., Hall, J., DiMatteo, M., Rogers, P., & Archer, D. (1979). Sensitivity to nonverbal communication: The PONS Test. Jonhs Kopckins University Press.Google Scholar
Ross, P. D., Polson, L., & Grosbras, M. H. (2012). Developmental changes in emotion recognition from full-light and point-light displays of body movement. PLoS ONE, 7(9), Article e44815. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0044815CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ruba, A. L., & Repacholi, B. M. (2019). Do preverbal infants understand discrete facial expressions of emotion? Emotion Review, 12(4), 235–250. https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073919871098CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sette, S., Spinrad, T. L., & Baumgartner, E. (2017). The relations of preschool children’s emotion knowledge and socially appropriate behaviors to peer likability. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 41(4), 532–541. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025416645667CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Simcock, G., McLoughlin, L. T., De Regt, T., Broadhouse, K. M., Beaudequin, D., Lagopoulos, J., & Hermens, D. F. (2020). Associations between facial emotion recognition and mental health in early adolescence. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(1), Article 330. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17010330CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sinzig, J., Morsch, D., & Lehmkuhl, G. (2008). Do hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattention have an impact on the ability of facial affect recognition in children with autism and ADHD? European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 17(2), 63–72. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-007-0637-9CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tonks, J., Williams, W. H., Frampton, I., Yates, P., & Slater, A. (2007). Assessing emotion recognition in 9-15-years olds: Preliminary analysis of abilities in reading emotion from faces, voices and eyes. Brain Injury, 21(6), 623–629. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699050701426865CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
van den Stock, J., Righart, R., & de Gelder, B. (2007). Body expressions influence recognition of emotions in the face and voice. Emotion, 7(3), 487–494. https://doi.org/10.1037/1528-3542.7.3.487CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vázquez-Campo, M., Maroño, Y., Lahera, G., Mateos, R., & García-Caballero, A. (2016). E-Motional Training®: Pilot study on a novel online training program on social cognition for patients with schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research: Cognition, 4, 10–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scog.2015.11.007Google ScholarPubMed
Wang, Y., Hawk, S. T., Tang, Y., Schlegel, K., & Zou, H. (2019). Characteristics of emotion recognition ability among primary school children: Relationships with peer status and friendship quality. Child Indicators Research, 12(4), 1369–1388. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-018-9590-zCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watson, J. B., & Rayner, R. (1920). Conditioned emotional reactions. American Psychologist, 55(3), 313–317. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.3.313CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watson, J. B., & Morgan, J. J. B. (1917). Emotional reactions and psychological experimentation. The American Journal of Psychology, 28, 163–174. https://doi.org/10.2307/1413718CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wells, A. E., Hunnikin, L. M., Ash, D. P., & van Goozen, S. H. M. (2020). Children with behavioral problems misinterpret the emotions and intentions of others. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 48(2), 213–221. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-019-00594-7CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zupan, B. (2015). Recognition of high and low intensity facial and vocal expressions of emotion by children and adults. Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 1(4), 332–344.Google Scholar