Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39374138›Full record

ArticleEmotion (Washington, D.C.)2025

Perceptual sensitivity to labeling stereotyped emotion expressions: Associations with age and subclinical psychopathology symptoms from childhood through early adulthood.

David G Weissman, Henna I Vartiainen, Erik C Nook, Hilary K Lambert, Stephanie F Sasse, Leah H Somerville, Katie A McLaughlin

Erratum issuedAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Emotion (Washington, D.C.), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

David G WeissmanDepartment of Psychology, Harvard University.ORCID 0000-0001-9966-3338
Henna I VartiainenDepartment of Psychology, Princeton University.
Erik C NookDepartment of Psychology, Princeton University.
Hilary K LambertBehavioral Health Partial Hospital Program, McLean Hospital.
Stephanie F SasseDepartment of Psychology, Harvard University.
Leah H SomervilleDepartment of Psychology, Harvard University.
Katie A McLaughlinDepartment of Psychology, Harvard University.

Funding

Neurodevelopmental Mechanisms Underlying Stress Vulnerability during AdolescenceR37MH119194 · NIMH · HARVARD UNIVERSITY · PI Katie McLaughlin · 2020 to 2026
$10.6M
Deprivation and Threat: Dimensions of Early Experience and Neural DevelopmentR01MH106482 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · PI MCLAUGHLIN, KATIE · 2016 to 2020
$3.1M
Neurodevelopmental Mechanisms Underlying Stress Vulnerability during AdolescenceR56MH119194 · NIMH · HARVARD UNIVERSITY · PI MCLAUGHLIN, KATIE · 2019 to 2019
$1.5M
Emotional Granularity and Interoceptive Accuracy: Affective Skills Linking Dimensions of Childhood Adversity with Adolescent Stress VulnerabilityR16GM154604 · NIGMS · CALIFORNIA STATE UNIV-DOMINGUEZ HILLS · PI David G Weissman · 2024 to 2026
$551k
Emotional Awareness: An integrative neural mechanism linking childhood trauma with psychopathologyK99MH127248 · NIMH · HARVARD UNIVERSITY · PI WEISSMAN, DAVID G · 2022 to 2023
$246k
Jacobs FoundationNational Science FoundationNIGMS NIH HHS R16 GM154604NIMH NIH HHS K99 MH127248NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH106482NIMH NIH HHS R37 MH119194NIMH NIH HHS R56 MH119194OneMind Institute
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This study investigates (a) age-related differences in how the intensity of stereotyped facial expressions influence the emotion label children, adolescents, and adults assign to that face and (b) how this perceptual sensitivity relates to subclinical symptoms of psychopathology. In 2015-2016, 184 participants aged 4-25 years viewed posed stereotypes of angry, fearful, sad, and happy expressions morphed with neutral expressions at 10%-90% intensity. Thin plate regression smoothing splines were used to chart nonlinear associations between age and the perceptual threshold participants needed to assign the emotion label expected based on cultural consensus. Results suggest that sensitivity to labeling stereotypical happy faces as "happy" peaked by age 4. Sensitivity to perceiving stereotypical angry faces as "angry" increased from ages 4 to 7 and then plateaued. In contrast, sensitivity to perceiving stereotypical fearful and sad faces demonstrated protracted development, not reaching a plateau until ages 15 and 16, respectively. Reduction in selecting the "I don't know" response was the primary driver of these age-related changes. Stereotyped fear expressions required the highest intensity to be labeled as such and showed the most marked change in perceptual threshold across development. Interestingly, lower intensity morphs of stereotypical fear faces were frequently labeled "sad." Furthermore, perceiving lower intensity fear morphs was associated with fewer internalizing and externalizing symptoms in participants aged 7-19. This study describes the development of perceptual sensitivity to labeling stereotypical expressions of emotion according to cultural consensus and shows that how people perceive and categorize ambiguous facial expressions is associated with vulnerability to psychopathology. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Indexed as

EmotionsFacial ExpressionFacial RecognitionMental DisordersSocial PerceptionAdolescentAdultAge FactorsChildChild, PreschoolFearFemaleHumansMaleYoung Adult

Identifiers

PMID39374138
PMCPMC11996056

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.