The recognition of facial expressions: An investigation of the influence of age and cognition

The present study aimed to investigate changes in facial expression recognition across the lifespan, as well as to determine the influence of fluid intelligence, processing speed, and memory on this ability. Peak performance in the ability to identify facial affect was found to occur in middle-age,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition Neuropsychology, and Cognition, 2012-11, Vol.19 (6), p.657-676
Main Authors: Horning, Sheena M., Cornwell, R. Elisabeth, Davis, Hasker P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Affect recognition
Age Factors
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Aging
Aging - physiology
Analysis of Variance
Child
Child, Preschool
Cognition - physiology
Emotion
Facial Expression
Facial expressions
Female
Fluid intelligence
Humans
Intelligence Tests
Male
Memory - physiology
Middle Aged
Neuropsychological Tests
Pattern Recognition, Visual - physiology
Photic Stimulation
Regression Analysis
Young Adult
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Summary:The present study aimed to investigate changes in facial expression recognition across the lifespan, as well as to determine the influence of fluid intelligence, processing speed, and memory on this ability. Peak performance in the ability to identify facial affect was found to occur in middle-age, with the children and older adults performing the poorest. Specifically, older adults were impaired in their ability to identify fear, sadness, and happiness, but had preserved recognition of anger, disgust, and surprise. Analyses investigating the influence of cognition on emotion recognition demonstrated that cognitive abilities contribute to performance, especially for participants over age 45. However, the cognitive functions did not fully account for the older adults' impairments on expression recognition. Overall, the age-related deficits in facial expression recognition have implications for older adults' use of non-verbal communicative information.
ISSN:1382-5585
1744-4128
DOI:10.1080/13825585.2011.645011