Identification of Primary Facial Emotions in Relation to Level of Self-Criticism

Differences Between High and Low Self-Critics in Compassionate Facial Expression

The goal of this study was to identify differences between high and low self-critical participants in relation to compassionate facial expressions. Our convenience sample consisted of 151 participants aged 18-59 years old (M = 25.17; SD = 7.81). The highest and the lowest scoring participants in self-criticism were selected for final analysis (N = 35). Participants, at home alone, watched a short video stimulus eliciting compassion while their facial expressions were recorded using webcams. Out of the sample we selected the highest 10% and the lowest 10% of self-critical participants according to the Slovak norms of The Forms of Self-Criticizing/Attacking and Self-Reassuring Scale. Two certified Facial Action Coding System raters (FACS) coded the participants' muscular activity according to facial action units. The FACS analysis revealed that action units 4 - brow lowerer, 7 - lids tight, 43 - eyes closed, 45 - blink, 55 - head tilt left, and 56 - head tilt right occurred significantly less often in high self-critical participants than in low self-critical participants, controlling for the difference between the baseline and compassionate moments in the video stimulus. Our research found that participants high in self-criticism were less facially expressive than those low in self-critical when watching compassionate video.

ReNeuWell mental well-being app: protocol for a randomised controlled trial

INTRODUCTION

The field of mental well-being interventions includes numerous studies of smartphone app-based programs, but there is a research-to-retail gap where many studies pertain to apps that are not publicly available, not used as standalone programs, or not tested in the general population, and many publicly available apps (or their proprietary in-app measures) have yet to be submitted to empirical testing. Furthermore, few well-being apps offer multicomponent interventions, despite such interventions having demonstrated efficacy outside the smartphone context. In response to these openings in the literature and marketplace, we have developed ReNeuWell, an iPhone app designed to measure the user's mental well-being (via the validated Composure, Own-worth, Mastery, Positivity, Achievement and Satisfaction for Well-being (COMPAS-W) scale) and improve their well-being via a personalised, multicomponent program of activities informed by the peer-reviewed evidence base. This article describes the protocol for the preregistered randomised controlled trial (RCT) of ReNeuWell, to test the app in adult participants from the general population of Apple App Store users. It is hypothesised that ReNeuWell users will experience significant increases in mental well-being and decreases in mental distress over the 6-12-week trial period, relative to users of an active control version of the app.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

The RCT will recruit participants from Apple Store users who choose to download ReNeuWell in the normal course of browsing the marketplace. Following consent, the app will randomly allocate participants to receive either the full version of the app or the active control version. The full version assesses the user's well-being via the validated COMPAS-W scale, provides feedback on their well-being across six dimensions and creates a personalised schedule of daily positive psychology activities designed to enhance well-being along each dimension. Participants will be instructed to use the app for at least 10 min (at least one activity) per day for the first 6 weeks, and as they wish for the following 6 weeks. Trial outcomes will be measured via in-app surveys administered in weeks 1, 6 and 12. Data collection will begin when the app is officially launched on the Apple Store. Data will be analysed using linear mixed models to estimate condition-by-time interaction effects on the primary and secondary outcomes, and to assess whether any such effects are themselves moderated by other key variables.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

This protocol has been approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the University of New South Wales (reference number: HC210302). Trial outcomes will be published in accordance with the preregistered protocol described here, both in the peer-reviewed literature and on the registry website.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

This protocol was preregistered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (registration approved on 4 August 2021; trial ID number: ACTRN12621001014842p).

Fixation patterns in pairs of facial expressions-preferences of self-critical individuals

So far, studies have revealed some differences in how long self-critical individuals fixate on specific facial expressions and difficulties in recognising these expressions. However, the research has also indicated a need to distinguish between the different forms of self-criticism (inadequate or hated self), the key underlying factor in psychopathology. Therefore, the aim of the current research was to explore fixation patterns for all seven primary emotions (happiness, sadness, fear, disgust, contempt, anger, and surprise) and the neutral face expression in relation to level of self-criticism by presenting random facial stimuli in the right or left visual field. Based on the previous studies, two groups were defined, and the pattern of fixations and eye movements were compared (high and low inadequate and hated self). The research sample consisted of 120 adult participants, 60 women and 60 men. We used the Forms of Self-Criticizing and Self-Reassuring Scale to measure self-criticism. As stimuli for the eye-tracking task, we used facial expressions from the Umeå University Database of Facial Expressions database. Eye movements were recorded using the Tobii X2 eye tracker. Results showed that in highly self-critical participants with inadequate self, time to first fixation and duration of first fixation was shorter. Respondents with higher inadequate self also exhibited a sustained pattern in fixations (total fixation duration; total fixation duration ratio and average fixation duration)-fixation time increased as self-criticism increased, indicating heightened attention to facial expressions. On the other hand, individuals with high hated self showed increased total fixation duration and fixation count for emotions presented in the right visual field but did not differ in initial fixation metrics in comparison with high inadequate self group. These results suggest that the two forms of self-criticism - inadequate self and hated self, may function as distinct mechanisms in relation to emotional processing, with implications for their role as potential transdiagnostic markers of psychopathology based on the fixation eye-tracking metrics.

Clients' Facial Expressions of Self-Compassion, Self-Criticism, and Self-Protection in Emotion-Focused Therapy Videos

Clients' facial expressions allow psychotherapists to gather more information about clients' emotional processing. This study aims to examine and investigate the facial Action Units (AUs) of self-compassion, self-criticism, and self-protection within real Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) sessions. For this purpose, we used the facial analysis software iMotions. Twelve video sessions were selected for the analysis based on specific criteria. For self-compassion, the following AUs were significant: AUs 4 (brow furrow), 15 (lip corner depressor), and the AU12_smile (lip corner puller). For self-criticism, iMotions identified the AUs 2 (outer brow raise), AU1 (inner brow raise), AU7 (lid tighten), AU12_smirk (unilateral lip corner puller), and AU43 (eye closure). Self-protection was combined using the occurrence of AUs 1 and 4 and AU12_smirk. Moreover, the findings support the significance of discerning self-compassion and self-protection as two different concepts.