Theory of mind as a mediator of reasoning and facial emotion recognition: findings from 200 healthy people.
OBJECTIVE
It was proposed that the ability to recognize facial emotions is closely related to complex neurocognitive processes and/or skills related to theory of mind (ToM). This study examines whether ToM skills mediate the relationship between higher neurocognitive functions, such as reasoning ability, and facial emotion recognition.


METHODS
A total of 200 healthy subjects (101 males, 99 females) were recruited. Facial emotion recognition was measured through the use of 64 facial emotional stimuli that were selected from photographs from the Korean Facial Expressions of Emotion (KOFEE). Participants were requested to complete the Theory of Mind Picture Stories task and Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM).


RESULTS
Multiple regression analysis showed that the SPM score (t=3.19, p=0.002, β=0.22) and the overall ToM score (t=2.56, p=0.011, β=0.18) were primarily associated with a total hit rate (%) of the emotion recognition task. Hierarchical regression analysis through a three-step mediation model showed that ToM may partially mediate the relationship between SPM and performance on facial emotion recognition.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings imply that higher neurocognitive functioning, inclusive of reasoning, may not only directly contribute towards facial emotion recognition but also influence ToM, which in turn, influences facial emotion recognition. These findings are particularly true for healthy young people.
Section of Affect and Neuroscience, Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea. ; Department of Psychiatry, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Severance Mental Health Hospital, Gwangju, Republic of Korea.
Seul Bee
SB
Lee
Section of Affect and Neuroscience, Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Se Jun
SJ
Koo
Section of Affect and Neuroscience, Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea. ; Department of Psychiatry, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Severance Mental Health Hospital, Gwangju, Republic of Korea.
Yun Young
YY
Song
Section of Affect and Neuroscience, Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Mi Kyung
MK
Lee
Section of Affect and Neuroscience, Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea. ; Graduate Program in Cognitive Science, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Yu-Jin
YJ
Jeong
Section of Affect and Neuroscience, Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Catherine
C
Kwon
Section of Affect and Neuroscience, Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea. ; Graduate Program in Cognitive Science, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Kyoung Ri
KR
Park
Section of Affect and Neuroscience, Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea. ; Department of Psychiatry, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Jin Young
JY
Park
Section of Affect and Neuroscience, Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea. ; Department of Psychiatry, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Severance Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Jee In
JI
Kang
Section of Affect and Neuroscience, Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea. ; Department of Psychiatry, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Severance Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Eun
E
Lee
Section of Affect and Neuroscience, Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea. ; Department of Psychiatry, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Severance Mental Health Hospital, Gwangju, Republic of Korea. ; Graduate Program in Cognitive Science, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. ; Department of Medical Science, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Suk Kyoon
SK
An
Analogical reasoning; Facial emotion; Neurocognition; Social cognition; Theory of mind