Science University Research Symposium (SURS)
Publication Date
11-2024
College
Sciences and Mathematics, College of
Department
Psychological Science, Department of
SURS Faculty Advisor
Michael Oliver, Ph.D.
Presentation Type
Metadata Only
Abstract
Anxiety and depression are widespread mental health disorders that elicit prolonged tension, uneasiness, and low moods (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2024; American Psychological Association). These mental health conditions have been known to influence cognitive and perceptual processes (Perin et al., 2022). Multiple studies have found evidence that depression and/or anxiety create a heightened issue of misinterpreting facial and emotional cues (Kang et al., 2019; Monferrer et al., 2023). Notably, People with anxiety have a higher rate of sensitivity and/or error when shown a face with an angry expression (Kang et al., 2019), while people with depression have more errors in emotional recognition, specifically with cheerful faces (Kruse et al., 2021). The current study aims to evaluate the impact that depressive and anxious symptoms have on emotional facial recognition, providing further understanding of the complex relationships. Our study consisted of 39 participants who were students in undergraduate psychology courses at Belmont University. Participants were recruited via SONA and participated in a Qualtrics survey in which they identified emotions in a series of photographs of faces. Participants received one SONA credit in exchange for their participation. Our results led us to conclude that those experiencing more depressive symptoms and anxious traits were less accurate in the ability to identify the depicted emotion. Our study had limitations in that we had a small sample size that consisted of mostly women. The present study has future implications in that it strengthens the reliability of the previous findings that initially led us to form these hypotheses. A more extensive array of emotions would be interesting to investigate for future studies.
Recommended Citation
Buck, Gracie J.; Malin, McKensey P.; Chacon, Emma; and Fies, Abbey, "The Impact of Depression and Anxiety on Emotional Facial Recognition" (2024). Science University Research Symposium (SURS). 154.
https://repository.belmont.edu/surs/154
