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Access Type
WSU Access
Date of Award
January 2023
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
Lisa J. Rapport
Abstract
Objective: Accurate processing of facial display of affect is critical for communication. Disruptions in recognizing and remembering the emotions of others can undermine relationship quality and psychosocial well-being. It is well-documented that adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI) frequently have impairments in their ability to recognize facial affect, but research about memory for facial affect is scarce. The present study examined the relationship between recognition and memory for emotions using a novel computerized task and explored its associations with other cognitive abilities, as well as to experienced emotion.Participants and Methods: Participants were adults with complicated-mild to severe TBI (n = 53) and healthy comparisons (n = 64). They completed the Assessment of Facial Affect Recognition and Memory (AFARM), a new task measuring emotion perception and memory for facial affect. A neuropsychological battery assessed face memory, premorbid intelligence, verbal learning and memory, simple visual perception, basic attention, working memory, processing speed, and executive function. Participants also completed self-report measures of mood and affect intensity. AFARM reliability was examined with Cronbach’s alpha. Construct validity was investigated via correlations with neuropsychological and psychological variables, regression and moderation analyses, and group comparisons including logistic regression. To examine performances on individual emotions, Mann-Whitney tests assessed between-group differences, whereas Friedman followed by Wilcoxon tests examined within-group profiles. Results: Reliabilities of the three-trial total perception accuracy, as well as variables reflecting memory consistency, were in the acceptable range (KR20 > .70); however, reliabilities for immediate and long-delay recall accuracy were low, due to floor and ceiling effects in a few items that developed with the repeated exposure. AFARM indices showed strong interrelationships that diminished at long-delay, suggesting that accuracy and consistency of memory dissociate over time. Despite some low reliabilities, the AFARM demonstrated a pattern of group differences and correlations with cognitive tests supporting convergent (verbal memory, face memory, semantic fluency) and discriminant validity (estimated IQ, basic attention, phonemic fluency), although unexpectedly, processing speed was the strongest correlate of most AFARM variables. Adults with TBI performed worse compared to healthy participants across AFARM indices. Hierarchical logistic regression showed that memory for facial emotion accounted for unique variance in group membership beyond recognition accuracy of facial affect, memory for non-emotional faces, and verbal memory. Profiles of perception accuracy and memory for individual emotions showed that neither group improved in learning to perceive emotions across the three perception trials. In contrast, large effects (dMean = 1.80) were observed in forgetting emotions in both groups. Negative affectivity, including specific assessment of depression, anxiety, and anger, were relatively mild in this sample and therefore did not correlate well with AFARM. However, positive affectivity showed an inverse linear association with memory for emotions. Additionally, moderation analyses indicated that affect intensity was inversely related to memory for emotions, but only among participants with cognitive impairment. Conclusions: Memory for facial emotions is a unique aspect of social cognition that is related to, but distinct from, accurate recognition of facial emotions. There is currently a lack of well-validated, clinical assessment measures of memory for emotions. Partial support was found for the construct validity of a novel performance-based assessment measure of recognition and memory for facial displays of emotion, although further refinement of this scale is warranted. Subjective experience of emotion had substantial effects on objective performance, indicating that an individual’s experience of their own emotions can disrupt sensitivity to the emotions of others. Importantly, however, individual differences in emotion responsivity were moderated by cognitive status.
Recommended Citation
Sanders, Gavin, "A New Paradigm For The Assessment Of Recognition And Memory For Facial Displays Of Emotions Following Traumatic Brain Injury" (2023). Wayne State University Dissertations. 3913.
https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_dissertations/3913