Emotion recognition in typical and atypical development: A technology-based paradigm

Abstract

Recognition of facial expressions is a fundamental ability for developing social interaction in life. Previous studies have shown that there is a developmental course of how emotion recognition is developed and may be dependent of the way in which is measured. Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have difficulties in identifying emotions and other cognitive abilities. Our study aims to investigate the development of facial recognition skills in individuals with ASD and typically developing children using cognitive infocommunication methodology. We have tested 51 children aged between 12 and 14 years, out of which 11 children with ASD. The results show that children with ASD process emotions in a different way compared to typically developing children and that the performance is dependent on the type of measurement.