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Emotional Competence
Found 5 listings
Alexithymia and Emotion Recognition in People with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Review
Abstract:
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder involving social-communication deficits, and rigid and repetitive behaviours. Individuals with ASD also demonstrate emotion-processing deficits, such as difficulties recognizing their own or others’ emotions. There is evidence to suggest that co-occurring alexithymia, or difficulties recognizing emotions within oneself, and not ASD may account for these difficulties. This paper reviews the literature about alexithymia to better understand emotion recognition skills in ASD. Implications are discussed in terms of possible therapeutic interventions involving alexithymia, which may improve emotional and social outcomes among those with ASD. Written by Ruby Jamil, M.A., and Anne-Marie DePape, Ph.D. This PDF article is available for download only.
Jamil and DePape - Alexithymia and Emotion Recognition in People with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Review, 2017 PDF
Amygdala Engagement in Response to Subthreshold Presentations of Anxious Face Stimuli in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Preliminary Insights
Article: Amygdala Engagement in Response to Subthreshold Presentations of Anxious Face Stimuli in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Preliminary Insights. This paper was published in 2010 by Geoffrey Hall and colleagues, included Krissy Doyle-Thomas in the journal PLoS One. This PDF article is available for download only.
Abstract:
Current theoretical models of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have proposed that impairments in the processing of social/emotional information may be linked to amygdala dysfunction. However, the extent to which amygdala functions are compromised in ASD has become a topic of debate in recent years. In a jittered functional magnetic resonance imaging study, sub-threshold presentations of anxious faces permitted an examination of amygdala recruitment in 12 high functioning adult males with ASD and 12 matched controls. We found heightened neural activation of the amygdala in both high functioning adults with ASD and matched controls. Neither the intensity nor the time-course of amygdala activation differed between the groups. However, the adults with ASD showed significantly lower levels of fusiform activation during the trials compared to controls. Our findings suggest that in ASD, the transmission of socially salient information along sub-cortical pathways is intact: and yet the signaling of this information to structures downstream may be impoverished, and the pathways that facilitate subsequent processing deficient.
Hall et al - Amygdala Engagement in Response to Subthreshold Presentations of Anxious Face Stimuli in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders Preliminary Insights 2010 PDF
Examining and Comparing Social Perception Abilities Across Childhood-Onset Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Article: Examining and Comparing Social Perception Abilities Across Childhood-Onset Neurodevelopmental Disorders. his paper was published in 2015 by Danielle Baribeau and colleagues, included Krissy Doyle-Thomas in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.
Abstract:
Objective
Several neurodevelopmental disorders are associated with social processing deficits. The objective of this study was to compare patterns of social perception abilities across obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and control participants.
Method
A total of 265 children completed the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test–Child Version (RMET). Parents or caregivers completed established trait/symptom scales. The predicted percentage of accuracy on the RMET was compared across disorders and by item difficulty and item valence (i.e., positive/negative/neutral mental states), then analyzed for associations with trait/symptom scores.
Results
The percentage of correct RMET scores varied significantly between diagnostic groups (p < .0001). On pairwise group comparisons controlling for age and sex, children with ADHD and ASD scored lower than the other groups (p < .0001). When IQ was also controlled for in the model, participants with OCD performed better than controls (p < .001), although differences between other groups were less pronounced. Participants with ASD scored lowest on easy items. Those with ASD and ADHD scored significantly lower than other groups on items with positive valence (p < .01). Greater social communication impairment and hyperactivity/impulsivity, but not OCD traits/symptoms, were associated with lower scores on the RMET, irrespective of diagnosis.
Conclusion
Social perception abilities in neurodevelopmental disorders exist along a continuum. Children with ASD have the greatest deficits, whereas [...]
Neurofunctional Underpinnings of Audiovisual Emotion Processing in Teens with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Article: Neurofunctional Underpinnings of Audiovisual Emotion Processing in Teens with Autism Spectrum Disorders. This paper was published in 2013 by Krissy Doyle-Thomas and colleagues in the journal, Frontiers in Psychiatry. The PDF article is available for download only.
Abstract:
Despite successful performance on some audiovisual emotion tasks, hypoactivity has been observed in frontal and temporal integration cortices in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Little is understood about the neurofunctional network underlying this ability in individuals with ASD. Research suggests that there may be processing biases in individuals with ASD, based on their ability to obtain meaningful information from the face and/or the voice. This functional magnetic resonance imaging study examined brain activity in teens with ASD (n = 18) and typically developing controls (n = 16) during audiovisual and unimodal emotion processing. Teens with ASD had a significantly lower accuracy when matching an emotional face to an emotion label. However, no differences in accuracy were observed between groups when matching an emotional voice or face-voice pair to an emotion label. In both groups brain activity during audiovisual emotion matching differed significantly from activity during unimodal emotion matching. Between-group analyses of audiovisual processing revealed significantly greater activation in teens with ASD in a parietofrontal network believed to be implicated in attention, goal-directed behaviors, and semantic processing. In contrast, controls showed greater activity in frontal and temporal association cortices during this task. These results suggest that in the absence of engaging integrative emotional networks during audiovisual emotion matching, teens with ASD may have recruited [...]
Self-Talk and Emotional Intelligence in University Students
Article: Self-Talk and Emotional Intelligence in University Students. This paper was published in 2006 by Anne-Marie DePape and colleagues in the peer-reviewed journal, Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science.
Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to examine self-talk, year of university study, and gender as predictors of emotional intelligence in a diverse sample of 126 undergraduate participants (42 male, 84 female). Self-talk has been discussed in the literature as a means of enhancing self-awareness and self-regulation, both of which are considered important in the construct of emotional intelligence. Participants completed self-report questionnaires on self-talk and emotional intelligence. The results indicated that year of study and self-talk were significant predictors of emotional intelligence and were associated with emotional intelligence in a positive direction. Contrary to expectation, gender was not a significant predictor. The implications of the findings are discussed in terms of potential future research directions for the study of self-talk and emotional intelligence.
Link: Self-Talk and Emotional Intelligence in University Students
Reference Information: Depape, A.-M. R., Hakim-Larson, J., Voelker, S., Page, S., & Jackson, D. L. (2006). Self-talk and emotional intelligence in university students. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science / Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 38(3), 250–260. https://doi.org/10.1037/cjbs2006012