10.3205/PSM000094
Limbrecht-Ecklundt, Kerstin
Kerstin
Limbrecht-Ecklundt
Scheck, Andreas
Andreas
Scheck
Jerg-Bretzke, Lucia
Lucia
Jerg-Bretzke
Walter, Steffen
Steffen
Walter
Hoffmann, Holger
Holger
Hoffmann
Traue, Harald C.
Harald C.
Traue
The effect of forced choice on facial emotion recognition: a comparison to open verbal classification of emotion labels
German Medical Science GMS Publishing House
2013
JournalArticle
basic emotions
facial emotion recognition
open-response format
decision making
610 Medical sciences; Medicine
2013-06-17
2013
en
urn:nbn:de:0183-psm0000944
psm000094
text/html
GMS Psycho-Social-Medicine; 10:Doc04; ISSN 1860-5214
Objective: This article includes the examination of potential methodological problems of the application of a forced choice response format in facial emotion recognition.
Methodology: 33 subjects were presented with validated facial stimuli. The task was to make a decision about which emotion was shown. In addition, the subjective certainty concerning the decision was recorded.
Results: The detection rates are 68% for fear, 81% for sadness, 85% for anger, 87% for surprise, 88% for disgust, and 94% for happiness, and are thus well above the random probability.
Conclusion: This study refutes the concern that the use of forced choice formats may not adequately reflect actual recognition performance. The use of standardized tests to examine emotion recognition ability leads to valid results and can be used in different contexts. For example, the images presented here appear suitable for diagnosing deficits in emotion recognition in the context of psychological disorders and for mapping treatment progress.
GMS Psycho-Social-Medicine; 10:Doc04; ISSN 1860-5214