Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

LIVE: Thursday 27th June 2024, 18:00-19:30 (CEST)
Join our expert panel to discover why you need to understand the drivers of non-adherence in your patients, and how you can optimize medication adherence in your clinics to drastically improve patient outcomes.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health
Published in: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 1/2009

Open Access 01-12-2009 | Research

Misrecognition of facial expressions in delinquents

Authors: Wataru Sato, Shota Uono, Naomi Matsuura, Motomi Toichi

Published in: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health | Issue 1/2009

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

Previous reports have suggested impairment in facial expression recognition in delinquents, but controversy remains with respect to how such recognition is impaired. To address this issue, we investigated facial expression recognition in delinquents in detail.

Methods

We tested 24 male adolescent/young adult delinquents incarcerated in correctional facilities. We compared their performances with those of 24 age- and gender-matched control participants. Using standard photographs of facial expressions illustrating six basic emotions, participants matched each emotional facial expression with an appropriate verbal label.

Results

Delinquents were less accurate in the recognition of facial expressions that conveyed disgust than were control participants. The delinquents misrecognized the facial expressions of disgust as anger more frequently than did controls.

Conclusion

These results suggest that one of the underpinnings of delinquency might be impaired recognition of emotional facial expressions, with a specific bias toward interpreting disgusted expressions as hostile angry expressions.
Appendix
Available only for authorised users
Literature
1.
Research and Training Institute of the Ministry of Justice of Japan: White paper on crime 2005. 2005, Tokyo, Ministry of Justice of Japan
2.
Cohen D, Strayer J: Empathy in conduct-disordered and comparison youth. Dev Psychol. 1996, 32: 988-998. 10.1037/0012-1649.32.6.988.CrossRef
3.
Ekman P, Friesen WV: Unmasking the face: A guide to recognizing emotions from facial clues. 1975, Englewood Cliffs, Prentice-Hall
4.
Fridlund A: The new ethology of human facial expressions. The psychology of facial expression. Edited by: Russell JA, Fernandez-Dols JM. 1997, New York, Cambridge University Press, 103-129.CrossRef
5.
Frijda NH: Facial expression processing. Aspects of Face Processing. Edited by: Ellis H, Jeeves MA, Newcombe F, Young A. 1986, Dordrecht, Martinus Nijhoff, 319-325.CrossRef
6.
Savitsky JC, Izard CE, Kotsch WE, Christy L: Aggressor's response to the victim's facial expression of emotion. J Res Pers. 1974, 7: 346-357. 10.1016/0092-6566(74)90056-7.CrossRef
7.
Cadesky EB, Mota VL, Schachar RJ: Beyond words: How do children with ADHD and/or conduct problems process nonverbal information about affect?. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2000, 39: 1160-1167. 10.1097/00004583-200009000-00016.CrossRefPubMed
8.
Carr MB, Lutjemeier JA: The relation of facial affect recognition and empathy to delinquency in youth offenders. Adolescence. 2005, 40: 601-619.PubMed
9.
McCown W, Johnson J, Austin S: Inability of delinquents to recognize facial affect. J Soc Behav Pers. 1986, 1: 489-496.
10.
Dodge KA, Price JM, Bachorowski J-A, Newman JP: Hostile attributional biases in severely aggressive adolescents. J Abnorm Psychol. 1990, 99: 385-392. 10.1037/0021-843X.99.4.385.CrossRefPubMed
11.
Halligan SL, Cooper PJ, Healy SJ, Murray L: The attribution of hostile intent in mothers, fathers and their children. J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2007, 35: 594-604. 10.1007/s10802-007-9115-6.CrossRefPubMed
12.
Nasby W, Hayden B, DePaulo BM: Attributional bias among aggressive boys to interpret unambiguous social stimuli as displays of hostility. J Abnorm Psychol. 1980, 89: 459-468. 10.1037/0021-843X.89.3.459.CrossRefPubMed
13.
Shioiri T, Someya T, Helmeste D, Tang SW: Misintepretation of facial expression: A cross-cultural study. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 1999, 53: 45-50. 10.1046/j.1440-1819.1999.00469.x.CrossRefPubMed
14.
Research and Training Institute of the Ministry of Justice of Japan: White paper on crime 1990. 1990, Tokyo, Ministry of Justice of Japan
15.
Achenbach TM: Manual for the Child Behavior Checklist/4-18 and 1991 Profile. 1991, Burlington, University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry
16.
Itani T, Kanbayashi Y, Nakata Y, Kita M, Fujii H, Kuramoto H, Negishi T, Tezuka M, Okada A, Natori H: Standardization of the Japanse version of the Child Behavior Checklist/4-18. Seishin Shinkeigaku Zasshi. 2001, 41: 243-252.
17.
Ekman P, Friesen WV: Pictures of Facial Affect. 1976, Palo Alto, Consulting Psychologist
18.
Matsumoto D, Ekman P: Japanese and Caucasian facial expressions of emotion. 1988, San Francisco, Intercultural and Emotion Research Laboratory, Department of Psychology, San Francisco State University
19.
Sato W, Kubota Y, Okada T, Murai T, Yoshikawa S, Sengoku A: Seeing happy emotion in fearful and angry faces: Qualitative analysis of the facial expression recognition in a bilateral amygdala damaged patient. Cortex. 2002, 38: 727-742. 10.1016/S0010-9452(08)70040-6.CrossRefPubMed
20.
Keselman HJ, Algina J, Kowalchuk RK: The analysis of repeated measures designs: A review. Br J Math Stat Psychol. 2001, 54: 1-20. 10.1348/000711001159357.CrossRefPubMed
21.
Wright SP: Adjusted p-values for simultaneous inference. Biometrics. 1992, 48: 1005-1013. 10.2307/2532694.CrossRef
22.
Johnsen BH, Thayer JF, Hugdahl K: Affective judgment of the Ekman faces: A dimensional approach. J Psychophysiol. 1995, 9: 193-202.
23.
Coan JA, Allen JJ, Harmon-Jones E: Voluntary facial expression and hemispheric asymmetry over the frontal cortex. Psychophysiology. 2001, 38: 912-925. 10.1111/1469-8986.3860912.CrossRefPubMed
24.
Frijda NH, Tcherkassof A: Facial expressions as modes of action readiness. The Psychology of Facial Expression. Edited by: Russell JA, Fernandez-Dols JM. 1997, New York, Cambridge University Press, 78-102.CrossRef
25.
Cole PM, Zahn-Waxler C: Emotional dysregulation in disruptive behavior disorders. Developmental perspectives on depression. Edited by: Cicchetti D, Toth SL. 1992, Rochester, University of Rochester Press, 173-209.
26.
Plattner B, Karnik N, Jo B, Hall RE, Schallauer A, Carrion V, Feucht M, Steiner H: State and trait emotions in delinquent adolescents. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev. 2007, 38: 155-169. 10.1007/s10578-007-0050-0.CrossRefPubMed
27.
Pfefferbaum B, Wood PB: Self-report study of impulsive and delinquent behavior in college students. J Adolesc Health. 1994, 15: 295-302. 10.1016/1054-139X(94)90602-5.CrossRefPubMed
28.
Richards A, French CC, Calder AJ, Webb B, Fox R, Young AW: Anxiety-related bias in the classification of emotionally ambiguous facial expressions. Emotion. 2002, 2: 273-287. 10.1037/1528-3542.2.3.273.CrossRefPubMed
29.
Stouthamer-Loeber M, Loeber R, Homish DL, Wei E: Maltreatment of boys and the development of disruptive and delinquent behavior. Dev Psychopathol. 2001, 13: 941-955.PubMed
30.
Wolfe DA, Scott K, Wekerle C, Pittman AL: Child maltreatment: Risk of adjustment problems and dating violence in adolescence. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2001, 40: 282-289. 10.1097/00004583-200103000-00007.CrossRefPubMed
31.
Pollak SD, Cicchetti D, Hornung K, Reed A: Recognizing emotion in faces: Developmental effects of child abuse and neglect. Dev Psychol. 2000, 35: 679-688. 10.1037/0012-1649.36.5.679.CrossRef
32.
Dodge KA, Bates JE, Pettit GS: Mechanisms in the cycle of violence. Science. 1990, 250: 1678-1683. 10.1126/science.2270481.CrossRefPubMed
33.
Price JM, Glad K: Hostile attributional tendencies in maltreated children. J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2003, 31: 329-343. 10.1023/A:1023237731683.CrossRefPubMed
34.
Rapcsak SZ, Galper SR, Comer JF, Reminger SL, Nielsen L, Kaszniak AW, Verfaellie M, Laguna JF, Labiner DM, Cohen RA: Fear recognition deficits after focal brain damage: A cautionary note. Neurology. 2000, 54: 575-581.CrossRefPubMed
35.
Rojahn J, Gerhards F, Matlock ST, Kroeger TL: Reliability and validity studies of the Facial Discrimination Task for emotion research. Psychiatry Res. 2000, 95: 169-181. 10.1016/S0165-1781(00)00169-4.CrossRefPubMed
36.
Fullam R, Dolan M: Emotional information processing in violent patients with schizophrenia: Association with psychopathy and symptomatology. Psychiatry Res. 2006, 141: 29-37. 10.1016/j.psychres.2005.07.013.CrossRefPubMed
37.
Smith M, Walden T: Developmental trends in emotion understanding among a diverse sample of African-American preschool children. J Appl Dev Psychol. 1998, 19: 177-197. 10.1016/S0193-3973(99)80035-5.CrossRef
38.
Marsh AA, Kozak MN, Ambady N: Accurate identification of fear facial expressions predicts prosocial behavior. Emotion. 2007, 7: 239-251. 10.1037/1528-3542.7.2.239.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed
Metadata
Title
Misrecognition of facial expressions in delinquents
Authors
Wataru Sato
Shota Uono
Naomi Matsuura
Motomi Toichi
Publication date
01-12-2009
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health / Issue 1/2009
Electronic ISSN: 1753-2000
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/1753-2000-3-27

Other articles of this Issue 1/2009

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 1/2009 Go to the issue

Research

Morning and evening behavior in children and adolescents treated with atomoxetine once daily for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): Findings from two 24-week, open-label studies

Research

Offense related characteristics and psychosexual development of juvenile sex offenders

Research

Martial arts as a mental health intervention for children? Evidence from the ECLS-K

Erratum

Erratum to: Continuity, psychosocial correlates, and outcome of problematic substance use from adolescence to young adulthood in a community sample

Research

Does switching from oral extended-release methylphenidate to the methylphenidate transdermal system affect health-related quality-of-life and medication satisfaction for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder?

Research

"...because I am something special" or "I think I will be something like a guinea pig": information and assent of legal minors in clinical trials – assessment of understanding, appreciation and reasoning