Behind the mask : recognising genuine and masked expressions of emotion : the effect of therapists' training and experience : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
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Date
2017
DOI
Open Access Location
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Massey University
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The Author
Abstract
Accurately
recognising
facial
expressions
of
emotion
can
enhance
communication
and
the
development
of
a
therapeutic
relationship.
When
emotions
are
masked
or
inhibited,
duplicity
can
be
betrayed
through
evidence
of
leakage
of
the
underlying
emotion
occurring
in
the
face.
Being
able
to
discern
when
emotions
are
masked
or
concealed
may
also
contribute
to
therapy
outcomes
by
alerting
the
therapist
to
areas
requiring
further
exploration.
Despite
a
large
body
of
research
on
facial
expression
of
emotion,
there
is
a
dearth
of
research
into
therapists’
emotion
recognition
competencies
or
ability
to
detect
deception.
This
study
sought
to
answer
the
following
questions:
First,
is
recognition
of
facial
emotional
expressions,
including
masked
expressions,
enhanced
by
training?
Second,
does
clinical
experience
impact
on
emotion
recognition
ability?
Finally,
does
training
increase
the
ability
to
discern
authentic
from
falsified
expressions?
In
Study
1,
43
clinical
psychologists
were
recruited
for
the
study
and
undertook
an
emotion
recognition
and
deception
detection
task.
Twenty-‐two
of
the
participants
completed
training
in
emotion
recognition
using
the
Subtle
Expression
Training
Tool
(SETT;
http://www.paulekman.com).
In
Study
2,
a
partial
replication
of
Study
1
was
conducted
with
25
participants,
and
an
updated
version
of
the
SETT.
Results
for
recognition
of
emotion
were
mixed,
with
partial
support
found
for
the
hypothesis
that
training
would
enhance
recognition
ability.
Training
was
effective
for
improving
recognition
of
single
emotion
expressions,
but
had
less
impact
on
recognition
for
masked
or
leaked
expressions,
with
the
exception
of
sadness.
Efficacy
of
training
was
also
dependent
on
experience
level,
with
more
experienced
participants
benefiting
the
most.
All
participants
were
able
to
detect
emotional
deception
at
levels
above
chance
prior
to
training.
Following
training,
those
with
a
high
level
of
experience
demonstrated
the
greatest
improvement
in
deception
detection,
with
half
of
this
group
accurately
detecting
deception
at
levels
significantly
above
chance
(M
=
.74).
Description
Keywords
Emotion recognition, Face perception, Psychotherapists, Research Subject Categories::SOCIAL SCIENCES::Social sciences::Psychology::Applied psychology