Emotional expression and feeling in schizophrenia: Effects of specific expressive behaviors on emotional experiences

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between emoti onal expression and experience in schizophrenia by manipulating expressive behaviors directly and then assessing subsequent emotional feelings. In Stu dy 1. facial expressions and bodily postures were manipulated in a sample o f normals, the results of which replicate findings from previous studies of peripheral feedback effects on emotions. In Study 2. the same procedures w ere used with matched groups of outpatient schizophrenic men, patients with depression, and nonpsychiatric controls. Schizophrenia patients showed the usual effects from their facial expressions of sadness. fear, happiness, a nd surprise, but only from their postures of anger, whereas patients with d epression showed the same effects only from their expressions and postures of sadness, and normal controls only from their expressions and postures of anger. These patterns may reflect those aspects of the emotional response system that are functional and dysfunctional in schizophrenia and depressio n. (C) 1999 John Wiley and Sons. Inc.