The Relationship between Face Processing, Cognitive and Affective Empathy

This study aims to examine the relationship between affective and cognitive empathy scores and perceptual face recognition skills. A total of 18 young adults participated in the study. Cognitive and Affective Empathy Test (TECA), The eyes Test and an experimental task were carried out. The experimental task has two blocks, a presentation, and a recognition phase, under the Karolinska battery of images expressing different emotions. Cognitive empathy sub-factors were found to be related to the hit rate on the recognition of surprise faces as well as the discarding of faces of disgust. In relation to the hit rate on discarding faces of disgust, this was related to perspective taking. Reaction time and Cognitive empathy subfactors were found to be positively correlated to the recognition of disgust, surprise, and sadness. Lastly, Perspective taking was also related to the discarding of disgust reaction time in a direct way. The relationships between affective empathy and other measures for emotional face recognition were not statistically significant. Knowledge of individual differences in cognitive and affective empathy, as well as of their relationship with behavioral responses such as the recognition or dismissal of emotional faces are of interest for social interaction and in psychotherapy.