title: Response confidence for emotion perception in schizophrenia using a Continuous Facial Sequence Task.
abstract: Deficits in emotion perception and overconfidence in errors are well-documented in schizophrenia but have not been examined concurrently. The present study aimed to fill this gap. Twenty-three schizophrenia patients and twenty-nine healthy subjects underwent a Continuous Facial Sequence Task (CFST). The CFST comprised two blocks: a female (1st block) and a male protagonist (2nd block) displayed the six basic emotions postulated by Ekman as well as two more complex mental states and a neutral expression. Participants were first asked to identify the affect displayed by the performer and then to judge their response confidence. No group differences emerged regarding overall emotion perception. Follow-up analyses showed that patients were less correct in detecting some negative emotions but performed better for neutral or positive emotions. Regarding confidence, incorrect decisions in patients were associated with higher confidence than in controls (statistical trend level, moderate effect size). Patients displayed significant overconfidence in errors for negative emotions. In addition, patients were more prone to high-confident errors for emotions that were displayed in weak emotional intensity. While the study supports the view that the examination of confidence adds unique information to our understanding of social cognition, several methodological limitations render its findings preliminary.
authors.affiliation: University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Martinistr. 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany. moritz@uke.de
authors.forename: Steffen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Moritz
authors.forename: Aneta
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Woznica
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Andreou
authors.forename: Ulf
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Köther
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004644:Emotions; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D021641:Recognition, Psychology; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012938:Social Perception; D056345:Theory of Mind