Game Corrects Children’s Misreading of Emotional Faces to Tame Irritability
A computer game that changes a tendency to misread ambiguous faces as angry is showing promise as a potential treatment for irritability in children. About 3 percent of youth experience chronic severe irritability. They are prone to temper outbursts and are often in a grumpy mood. Parents complain of having to “walk on eggshells” to avoid unleashing verbal - and sometimes physical - outbursts. These behaviors can lead to problems with friends, family, and at school. Learn more about the findings from this NIMH pilot study: Source 2l.
At first this was an issue for my children, however now they recognize facial expressions very well. The main problem is their reaction to those facial expressions. For instance if you are angry they will know you are angry, but for them they will continue normal. Conversely, if you are happy they will know you are happy but get angry or sad about it. Therefore, it is one thing to be able to read it, and another to know the proper response to that facial expression.
Sleep deprivation impairs ability to interpret facial expressions
When you're tired, your ability to interpret subtle expressions of happiness and sadness can begin to deteriorate, researchers have found. However, the ability to read more primitive survival-based emotions, like anger and fear, remains intact. Ref. Source 8c.
I was watching something about this on the news the other day! They built a robot named Zeno that helps autistic children recognize facial expressions. I think there's a video on YouTube of a child going through a session with it. New technology like this seems very interesting, especially if it might be used in schools.