%0 Journal Article
%T No Differences in Emotion Recognition Strategies in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Evidence from Hybrid Faces
%A Kris Evers
%A Inneke Kerkhof
%A Jean Steyaert
%A Ilse Noens
%A Johan Wagemans
%J Autism Research and Treatment
%D 2014
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2014/345878
%X Emotion recognition problems are frequently reported in individuals with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, this research area is characterized by inconsistent findings, with atypical emotion processing strategies possibly contributing to existing contradictions. In addition, an attenuated saliency of the eyes region is often demonstrated in ASD during face identity processing. We wanted to compare reliance on mouth versus eyes information in children with and without ASD, using hybrid facial expressions. A group of six-to-eight-year-old boys with ASD and an age- and intelligence-matched typically developing (TD) group without intellectual disability performed an emotion labelling task with hybrid facial expressions. Five static expressions were used: one neutral expression and four emotional expressions, namely, anger, fear, happiness, and sadness. Hybrid faces were created, consisting of an emotional face half (upper or lower face region) with the other face half showing a neutral expression. Results showed no emotion recognition problem in ASD. Moreover, we provided evidence for the existence of top- and bottom-emotions in children: correct identification of expressions mainly depends on information in the eyes (so-called top-emotions: happiness) or in the mouth region (so-called bottom-emotions: sadness, anger, and fear). No stronger reliance on mouth information was found in children with ASD. 1. Introduction Facial expressions inform us about the feelings and state of mind of others and enable us to adjust our behavior and to react appropriately. Therefore, the ability to interpret facial expressions accurately and to derive socially relevant information from them is considered a fundamental requirement for typical reciprocal social interactions and communication [1]. Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are pervasive developmental disorders characterized by quantitative and qualitative deficits in reciprocal social interactions and communication and by the presence of restricted and repetitive behavior patterns, interests, and activities [2]. Difficulties in recognizing, identifying, and understanding the meaning of emotions are often considered as one of the trademarks of their social problems. Different procedures have been used to examine emotion processing abilities in children and adults with ASD, with or without intellectual disability: sorting, (cross-modal) matching, and labeling tasks (for a literature review and a meta-analysis on this topic, see [3, 4], resp.). Each of these procedures has revealed problems with affect processing
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/aurt/2014/345878/