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Voice, Body Cues and Facial Expression in Emotion Recognition of Spanish Children and Adolescents: The Validation of Bell-Lysaker Emotion Recognition Test

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 February 2022

M. Acebo García-Guerrero Open the ORCID record for M. Acebo García-Guerrero [Opens in a new window] ,
Javier Peña Open the ORCID record for Javier Peña [Opens in a new window] ,
Leire Zubiaurre-Elorza Open the ORCID record for Leire Zubiaurre-Elorza [Opens in a new window] ,
Danele Benítez ,
Anais M. Hernández ,
Ainara Oribe  and
Natalia Ojeda Open the ORCID record for Natalia Ojeda [Opens in a new window]
M. Acebo García-Guerrero
Affiliation:
Universidad de Deusto (Spain)
Javier Peña
Affiliation:
Universidad de Deusto (Spain)
Leire Zubiaurre-Elorza
Affiliation:
Universidad de Deusto (Spain)
Danele Benítez
Affiliation:
Universidad de Deusto (Spain)
Anais M. Hernández
Affiliation:
Universidad de Deusto (Spain)
Ainara Oribe
Affiliation:
Universidad de Deusto (Spain)
Natalia Ojeda*
Affiliation:
Universidad de Deusto (Spain)
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Natalia Ojeda. Universidad de Deusto. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud. Departamento de Psicología. Avda. de las Universidades, 24. 48007, Bilbao (Spain). E-mail: nojeda@deusto.es
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Abstract

Emotion recognition has been traditionally measured trough the recognition of emotional expressions of static faces. Studies suggest that emotion recognition is progressively acquired from early stages in our infancy. However, the literature regarding other emotional domains such as voice or body movements is scarce. Additionally, the number of tools that integrate several domains is limited, especially in children and adolescents, and none of them tested in Spanish samples. Therefore, this study aimed to define the psychometric properties of the Bell-Lysaker Emotion Recognition Task (BLERT) and a new-designed alternate version providing normative data in Spanish children and adolescents (from 8 to 15 years old corresponding to 3th). Moreover, we aim to describe the emotional acquisition trajectory of children and adolescents with a tool that integrates voice, face expressions and body movements. For that purpose, BLERT was translated into Spanish (BLERT–SI) and an alternate version was created (BLERT–SII). A total of 545 children and adolescents from 8 to 15 year-old participated in the study (250 male/295 female). All participants fulfilled BLERT–SI and BLERT–SII within two weeks of difference. Order of presentation was counterbalanced. Results showed that BLERT–SI and SII have good internal consistency (α = .70 and 71 respectively). Test-retest reliability showed a moderate correlation (r = .45; p < .001). Percentages equivalences per age are provided. Age correlated with BLERT–SI (r = .31; p < .001) and BLERT–SII (r = .21; p < .001), showing a progressive acquisition and development of emotion recognition during this period. BLERT–SI and SII are useful tools when studying the follow-up of children and adolescents.

Keywords

BLERTdevelopmentemotion recognitionsocial cognitionvalidation
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 25 , 2022 , e7
Copyright
© Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2022

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Footnotes

Conflicts of Interest: None.

Funding Statement: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

Acknowledgements: We would like to express our gratitude to Morris D. Bell and Paul Lysaker, original authors of BLERT for transferring the scale for their translation into Spanish. We would like to show our appreciation to Julian Wright from the Language Editing Service of Deusto University for revising the English of this manuscript.

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