1,720,981 research outputs found
Development and Validation of the Facial Expression Recognition Test (FERT)
No full textDetecting the emotional state of others from facial expressions is a key ability in emotional competence and several instruments have been developed to assess it. Typical emotion recognition tests are assumed to be unidimensional, use pictures or videos of emotional portrayals as stimuli, and ask the participant which emotion is depicted in each stimulus. However, using actor portrayals adds a layer of difficulty in developing such a test: the portrayals may fail to be convincing and may convey a different emotion than intended. For this reason, evaluating and selecting stimuli is of crucial importance. Existing tests typically base item evaluation on consensus or expert judgment, but these methods could favor items with high agreement over items that better differentiate ability levels and they could not formally test the item pool for unidimensionality. To address these issues, the authors propose a new test, named Facial Expression Recognition Test (FERT), developed using an item response theory two-parameter logistic model. Data from 1,002 online participants were analyzed using both a unidimensional and a bifactor model, and showed that the item pool could be considered unidimensional. The selection was based on the items' discrimination parameters, retaining only the most informative items to investigate the latent ability. The resulting 36-item test was reliable and quick to administer. The authors found both a gender difference in the ability to recognize emotions and a decline of such ability with age. The PsychoPy implementation of the test and the scoring script are available on a Github repository
Italian Validation of the Touch Avoidance Measure and the Touch Avoidance Questionnaire
No full textSocial touch is essential in relationships and well-being, but the unique personal
experience of touch is not assessed and taken into account in health and social care
services. The pleasantness of gentle stroking is influenced by gender, toucher genre,
toucher familiarity, culture, and age. Moreover, pleasantness is influenced by touch
avoidance, the attitude toward interpersonal touch. The aim of this article is to present
the translation, adaptation, and validation in Italian of two scales to measure touch
avoidance. For translation and validation, we selected the most used scale, the Touch
Avoidance Measure (TAM) and a more recent scale, the Touch Avoidance Questionnaire
(TAQ). Confirmatory factor analyses reported good model fit for the TAM [comparative
fit index (CFI) = 0.947, Tucker–Lewis index (TLI) = 0.940, root-mean-square error of
approximation (RMSEA) = 0.065] and excellent model fit for the TAQ (CFI = 0.954,
TLI = 0.950, RMSEA = 0.058). Internal consistency was high for all subscales, except
the TAQ “Stranger” subscale. One-month test–retest reliability ranged from 0.67 to 0.90
for each subscale. Lastly, convergent validity between the TAM and TAQ was also found
to be high. We conclude that the TAM and TAQ can be used to assess touch avoidance
with Italian samples. The instrument can be used to support healthcare professionals
and to assess attitudes toward touch in individuals with interpersonal difficulties
Facial expressions and speech acts: experimental evidences on the role of the upper face as an illocutionary force indicating device in language comprehension
No full textLanguage scientists have broadly addressed the problem of explaining how language users recognize the kind of speech act performed by a speaker uttering a sentence in a particular context. They have done so by investigating the role played by the illocutionary force indicating devices (IFIDs), i.e., all linguistic elements that indicate the illocutionary force of an utterance. The present work takes a first step in the direction of an experimental investigation of non-verbal IFIDs because it investigates the role played by facial expressions and, in particular, of upper-face action units (AUs) in the comprehension of three basic types of illocutionary force: assertions, questions, and orders. The results from a pilot experiment on production and two comprehension experiments showed that (1) certain upper-face AUs seem to constitute non-verbal signals that contribute to the understanding of the illocutionary force of questions and orders; (2) assertions are not expected to be marked by any upper-face AU; (3) some upper-face AUs can be associated, with different degrees of compatibility, with both questions and orders
Untying a Gordian knot: Exploring the nomological network of resilience
No full textObjective This study investigates the relations of resilience with coping, personality traits, emotional intelligence, sense of coherence and maladaptive personality traits. Method The study employs network analysis techniques to the study of resilience, showcasing how these methods can estimate a model that is simple to interpret while still retaining the most important relations and that can even suggest the direction of causality despite using a cross-sectional design (N = 305). Results The results highlight several important variables that should be considered for fostering resilience, foremost among them the use of positive reappraisal coping, sense of coherence, and the social management aspect of emotional intelligence. Conclusions The results successfully replicated known associations between resilience and other psychological constructs (emotional intelligence, personality, sense of coherence, coping) and shed light on relations between resilience and maladaptive personality traits. Network analysis considered all these constructs together, so as to take into account the complex pattern of relations between them and offer a bird's eye view of the whole network of associations centred on resilience. The resulting model is parsimonious and easy to interpret while still striving to preserve the complexity of the variables' interrelations
Masculinity threat and implicit associations with feminine gay men: Sexual orientation, sexual stigma, and traditional masculinity
No full textThe present study investigated implicit associations of stereotypical feminine and masculine gay men pictures with word stimuli referring to negative (vs. positive) and with self (vs. others) categories, among heterosexual and gay/bisexual men. We manipulated participants’ masculinity threat through a fictitious personality score and measured their sexual prejudice, internalized sexual stigma, adherence to traditional masculinity, and the norms of traditional masculinity ideology. We conducted two preliminary studies (n total = 186) to create and select the picture stimuli for the implicit association test (IAT), whereas the first (n = 180) and the second (n = 301) studies tested our research hypotheses. In Study 1, the IAT detected the associations between the pictures with positive and negative word stimuli, and in Study 2 the word stimuli referred to the self and others categories. The results indicated that in the condition of masculinity threat, compared to masculinity confirmation and control groups, both heterosexual and gay/bisexual participants were more likely to associate the stereotypical feminine gay men pictures to the self (vs. others), but not to negative (vs. positive) category. Furthermore, results showed that adherence to traditional masculinity has the strongest relations with the implicit association test (IAT) scores, and that internalized sexual stigma assumes a moderating role for gay men. Limitations and further directions are discussed
Editorial. Board and video games in education: Challenges and opportunities
Full text linkGame-Based Learning (GBL) continues to gain traction across educational levels, offering engaging, experiential approaches that foster both disciplinary learning and transversal competences. The articles featured in this special issue explore the educational potential of both commercial and serious games, digital and analog, to support learning in diverse domains, from STEM to media literacy. The issue also addresses key challenges in GBL implementation, including the need for learning design skills, teacher training, and inclusive practices that respond to learner diversity. Contributions adopt a variety of methodologies, from experimental studies to critical reviews, and extend the field’s scope by investigating underexplored topics such as biofeedback-based games and gender-related differences in gamification effectiveness. Taken together, the contributions emphasize the sheer variety of GBL approaches, while carefully considering how GBL should be employed to be effective
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