Emotional Recognition and Behavioral Regulation: An Integral Perspective

A special issue of Brain Sciences (ISSN 2076-3425). This special issue belongs to the section "Neuropsychology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 426

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Guest Editor
Department of Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
Interests: behavior; brain; emotion recognition; neuropsychology; psychobiology; violence
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Many researchers have been interested in understanding how emotional recognition, also known as emotional decoding, influences behavior regulation. Alterations in this basic cognitive process, which provide valuable information about both the environment and internal states, can significantly affect behavior. Observations indicate that individuals with various mental disorders, such as schizophrenia or depression, as well as those with personality disorders like antisocial and borderline traits, often experience disruptions in emotional recognition. As a result, many scientists are dedicating their efforts to identifying these alterations or deficits in at-risk populations. Their goal is to develop interventions that improve emotional recognition, which could lead to better emotional and behavioral regulation. Therefore, we invite research from any perspective that further explores this topic, whether it involves detecting these issues in different populations or developing effective interventions. Both empirical and theoretical studies are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Ángel Romero Martínez
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • behavioral regulation
  • emotion decoding
  • emotion recognition
  • mental disorders
  • personality disorders
  • violence

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

15 pages, 559 KiB  
Article
Exploring Fixation Times During Emotional Decoding in Intimate Partner Violence Perpetrators: An Eye-Tracking Pilot Study
by Carolina Sarrate-Costa, Marisol Lila, Luis Moya-Albiol and Ángel Romero-Martínez
Brain Sci. 2025, 15(7), 732; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci15070732 - 8 Jul 2025
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Abstract
Background/Objectives: Deficits in emotion recognition abilities have been described as risk factors for intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration. However, much of this research is based on self-reports or instruments that present limited psychometric properties. While current scientific literature supports the use of eye [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Deficits in emotion recognition abilities have been described as risk factors for intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration. However, much of this research is based on self-reports or instruments that present limited psychometric properties. While current scientific literature supports the use of eye tracking to assess cognitive and emotional processes, including emotional decoding abilities, there is a gap in the scientific literature when it comes to measuring these processes in IPV perpetrators using eye tracking in an emotional decoding task. Hence, the aim of this study was to examine the association between fixation times via eye tracking and emotional decoding abilities in IPV perpetrators, controlling for potential confounding variables. Methods: To this end, an emotion recognition task was created using an eye tracker in a group of 52 IPV perpetrators. This task consisted of 20 images with people expressing different emotions. For each picture, the facial region was selected as an area of interest (AOI). The fixation times were added to obtain a total gaze fixation time score. Additionally, an ad hoc emotional decoding multiple-choice test about each picture was developed. These instruments were complemented with other self-reports previously designed to measure emotion decoding abilities. Results: The results showed that the longer the total fixation times on the AOI, the better the emotional decoding abilities in IPV perpetrators. Specifically, fixation times explained 20% of the variance in emotional decoding test scores. Additionally, our ad hoc emotional decoding test was significantly correlated with previously designed emotion recognition tools and showed similar reliability to the eyes test. Conclusions: Overall, this pilot study highlights the importance of including eye movement signals to explore attentional processes involved in emotion recognition abilities in IPV perpetrators. This would allow us to adequately specify the therapeutic needs of IPV perpetrators to improve current interventions. Full article
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