AbstractsPsychology

A Comparison of the Judgements Made by Schizophrenic and Normal Subjects to the Ruckmick Pictures of Facial Expressions of Emotion

by Dennis G. Helfer




Institution: University of Detroit Mercy
Department:
Year: 2012
Record ID: 1986150
Full text PDF: http://hdl.handle.net/10429/464


Abstract

The judgement of the facial expressions of emotion has been a fruitful topic for study for many years. Though often contradictory, many theories have arisen from the multitude of investigations that have been conducted; yet very little of what has been discovered is directly applicable to the field of abnormal psychology. Two notable exceptions are the works by Arthur L. DiVittis and stuart Wilson. In each of these studies, the perception of the emotions was linked to the subject 's own emotional adjustments. From the definitions of schizophrenia by Taber and Drever this could be foreseen, at least theoretically. Drever defines schizophrenia as "a type of mental disorder…. characterized by dissociation, particularly between the intellectual processes and the affective, the latter being also to a great extent disorganized, with many varieties.” Taber states that "loss of emotions or emotions manifest as out of place" are symptoms of schizophrenia. In a factorial analysis of forty abnormal symptoms, Thomas V. Moore found that they could be grouped into five factors, three of the five being emotional. Thus there seems to be a strong relationship between a disturbance of the emotions and schizophrenia. In the judgement of emotional expressions, empathy plays a definite role. Kanner notes that the empathy can go so far that sometimes the whole person is "visualized." That empathy was a factor was also noted by Coleman. The need for research along the line of empathic reactions by schizophrenics was suggested by Southard. Empathic ability would seem to be a prerequisite for any real judgement of the facial expressions of emotion. If the abnormal subjects project into the expressions their own emotions, their judgements will reflect these emotions. A study, therefore, seems advisable to determine whether such empathy exists on the part of schizophrenic subjects, and if so, to determine the forms of the emotions projected. Emotion, as used in this thesis, is defined as " ... a complex state of the organism, involving bodily changes of a widespread character… and, on the mental side, a state of excitement or perturbation, marked by strong feeling, and usually an impulse towards a definite form of behaviour." The overt reactions are assumed to be outward responses in accord with the more immediate covert or inner mental and physiological responses. That the overt responses may be socialized to a degree is recognized and will be shown later. Further, both pleasant and unpleasant emotions will be considered. Empathy as used here refers to the ability to sense or feel the apparent emotions of the observed person as if they were, in part, the observer 's own. Statement of the Problem The apparent emotional flatness of the schizophrenic may be related to his perception of the environment. Whether the patient will project his flatness of emotional expression into his perception of others is yet to be seen. If he does project, then his own flatness of affect can be expected to be reflected in a tendency to make judgements of…