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Emotional facial recognition in proactive and reactive violent offenders

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Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyse individual differences in the ability of emotional facial recognition in violent offenders, who were characterised as either reactive or proactive in relation to their offending. In accordance with findings of our previous study, we expected higher impairments in facial recognition in reactive than proactive violent offenders. To assess the ability to recognize facial expressions, the computer-based Facial Emotional Expression Labeling Test (FEEL) was performed. Group allocation of reactive und proactive violent offenders and assessment of psychopathic traits were performed by an independent forensic expert using rating scales (PROREA, PCL-SV). Compared to proactive violent offenders and controls, the performance of emotion recognition in the reactive offender group was significantly lower, both in total and especially in recognition of negative emotions such as anxiety (d = −1.29), sadness (d = −1.54), and disgust (d = −1.11). Furthermore, reactive violent offenders showed a tendency to interpret non-anger emotions as anger. In contrast, proactive violent offenders performed as well as controls. General and specific deficits in reactive violent offenders are in line with the results of our previous study and correspond to predictions of the Integrated Emotion System (IES, 7) and the hostile attribution processes (21). Due to the different error pattern in the FEEL test, the theoretical distinction between proactive and reactive aggression can be supported based on emotion recognition, even though aggression itself is always a heterogeneous act rather than a distinct one-dimensional concept.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Simone Maurer, Sabrina Müller, and Pauline Hellenthal in preparing study material and data collection, and Dr. Darren Bishopp (University of Birmingham/UK) for valuable advice on data analysis and his helpful comments on a previous draft.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Forensic Psychology and Psychiatry, Saarland University, 66421, Homburg/Saar, Germany

    Florence Philipp-Wiegmann, Michael Rösler & Petra Retz-Junginger

  2. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany

    Wolfgang Retz

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  1. Florence Philipp-Wiegmann
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Philipp-Wiegmann, F., Rösler, M., Retz-Junginger, P. et al. Emotional facial recognition in proactive and reactive violent offenders. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 267, 687–695 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-017-0776-z

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