Modification of affect perception deficits in schizophrenia

Abstract

This study investigated two strategies for improving facial affect perception in schizophrenia: monetary reinforcement and promoting facial feedback via mimicry of the expressions of target faces. A total of 40 inpatients with schizophrenia were administered the face emotion identification test during four phases: baseline, intervention, immediate post-test, and 1week follow-up. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of four interventions: repeated practice, monetary reinforcement, facial feedback, and a combination of reinforcement and facial feedback. Generalization of the intervention to a test of facial affect discrimination was also examined. The results showed that all groups of subjects, with the exception of those in the repeated practice group, improved in their ability to identify facial affect, with these effects showing some stability over time. There was limited evidence of these effects generalizing to the test of facial affect discrimination.