Eficácia de um treinamento computadorizado para reconhecimento de faces emocionais em crianças

Abstract

The production and recognition of emotional expressions are important factors for non-verbal communication. Recognition of facial expressions can be considered a skill of social perception, which requires robust cognitive processes of discrimination of stimuli and identification of patterns. From the recognition of emotional expressions, we are able to infer intentions, beliefs and thoughts from other people (theory of mind), regulate our emotions and use contextually appropriate behaviors. Studies have pointed out that difficulties in face recognition and emotional processing are predictors of difficulties in social competence and, therefore, training aimed at specifically improving face recognition can be useful in improving both cognitive and behavioral processes. In order to understand the present moment of the literature on expressions recognition interventions for children, the first study is a systematic literature review. Following the Prisma method, it was possible to find from the descriptors training OR intervention AND face OR facial OR emotion AND expression. OR recognition, a total of 2964 articles on the bases Scopus, PubMed and PsycNET in the last five years. After the application of filters, 22 articles were selected. As results, it was possible to perceive important focus on interventions for recognition in a population with already defined psychopathologies (86.4%) and with emphasis on the specific difficulties of these disorders. Most of the studies (63.6%) had a large effect size on at least one task of recognizing emotional faces. Although this data should be analyzed with caution due to the applicant's small sample size (mean of 26.8 participants), it also shows benefits of interventions in the recognition of facial expressions. The second article aimed to develop an interactive training of recognition of emotional faces for children without specific psychopathology. It also sought to verify the effect of training on participants' theory of mind. Two groups (intervention and control) performed a task of face recognition and theory of mind in the first meeting (T1). After these tasks, the participants in the intervention group performed the training called Emotion Hunters, which aims to improve the recognition of basic emotional faces and used only children's faces. After the one-week period, the second meeting (T2) occurred with all participants and 52% of the sample performed a follow-up of one month (T3). Results: Significantly, the emotions of disgust and fear improved between T1 and T2 in all groups and sadness presented a reduction in accuracy. Not significantly, happiness and anger presented mixed results and surprise improved in all groups. In the T3 evaluation, fear was the only expression whose recognition maintained the improvement. The theory of mind improved in relation to T1 and T2 and, although it presented slight reduction in T3, the participants maintained the gains. Final considerations: There was a greater tendency to improve fear recognition, which was maintained throughout the three evaluations. Limitations and suggestions for future studies are discussed.