Citation

Fertuck EA, Tsoi F, Grinband J, Ruglass L, Melara R, Hien DA. Psychiatry Res. 2016; 237: 43-48.

Affiliation

City University of New York - City College, Department of Psychology, 160 Convent Avenue, NAC Bldg 7/120, New York, NY 10031, USA; New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University Medical Center, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10032, USA. Electronic address: dah26@columbia.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.psychres.2016.01.056

PMID

26921050

Abstract

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) research has focused largely on fear processing. However, interpersonal trauma exposure can also impact interpersonal functioning and the perception of the trustworthiness of others. The present study examined facial perceptions of fearfulness and trustworthiness in individuals with PTSD (n=29), trauma-exposed without PTSD (n=19), and healthy controls (n=18). The PTSD group was hypothesized to exhibit a bias to perceive more fear and untrustworthiness in faces relative to controls. Participants rated the level of fearfulness or trustworthiness of faces that were parametrically morphed along a fear or trustworthiness dimension. The PTSD group was biased to perceive faces as more trustworthy compared to the trauma-exposed healthy controls, yet there were no differences between groups in fear processing. A trustworthiness bias in PTSD may represent a vulnerability factor. Conversely, lower trustworthiness perception may represent a protective disposition in trauma-exposed individuals who do not develop PTSD. Differences in the perception of trustworthiness may be an aspect of social perception that is independent of the fear processing abnormalities observed in PTSD.

Language: en