Keywords
Facial expression - video games - schizophrenia
1. Background and Significance
1. Background and Significance
Facial expressions constitute an important component of non-verbal communication between
people. Many psychological studies have shown that recognizing and understanding facial
expressions is an important social skill [[1]–[3]]. In certain psychological disorders, such as autism and schizophrenia, the loss
of these skills may complicate the patient’s daily life. For instance, patients may
suffer from social difficulties and communication problems [[1]–[4]]. Prior research has shown that information technology may help to develop facial
expression recognition skills through educational software and “serious” games [[5]–[7]]. The primary purpose of such serious games is training or educating the users rather
than entertaining them [[8]].
There are many facial expressions and most of them are culture-specific. A facial
expression specific to one culture may mean nothing or something quite different in
another cultural environment [[9]]. However, it is widely accepted that there are seven universal facial expressions
recognized in the same manner in every culture. The feelings these facial expressions
represent are anger, fear, happiness, surprise, disgust, sadness, and neutrality [[10]]. Internet-based educational software using these expressions may be used in any
culture and may help the patient to improve facial expression recognition skills.
Frommann et al. designed a study to compare 16 ‘post-acute’ patients with schizophrenia
and a control group. According to the study, a group of patients who were trained
with software improved their performance in the identification of facial emotions
[[5]]. Silver et al. explored the effect of emotion training exercises on the perception
of facial emotional expressions. Twenty male chronic patients with schizophrenia underwent
three training sessions using emotion training software, which was initially developed
for autistic children and then adapted to the clinical setting. Patients were assessed
before and after training with validated tests for the identification of facial emotions,
differentiation of facial emotions, and working memory. They showed that brief emotion
training could improve recognition of facial emotional expressions in patients with
chronic schizophrenia [[6]]. Russel et al. investigated the effectiveness of the ‘micro-expressions training
tool’ (METT), which was developed to improve emotion recognition skill. Twenty patients
with schizophrenia and 20 healthy control participants were involved in the study.
The patients with schizophrenia showed significant improvements in emotion recognition
following the training with this tool [[7]].
2. Objectives
Although previous studies have shown that facial expression training software can
help patients with schizophrenia, none of those were specially designed for this purpose.
Disease-specific solutions can improve the outcomes, since issues in recognizing facial
expressions exhibit different patterns for each psychiatric disease [[11]–[13]]. During development of a training environment for patients with schizophrenia,
the general characteristics of the disease, such as impairment in social cognition,
difficulties in working memory, long-term memory, attention, executive functioning,
and speed of processing, should therefore be considered.
The aim of this study was to examine if a games website designed for teaching facial
expressions could improve facial expression recognition skills of patients with schizophrenia.
3. Methods
3.1. Selection of Images
We designed a website that includes brief facial expression education and serious
games for patients with schizophrenia. The first requirement was a basic facial expressions
digital photography set. Even though the basic facial expressions could be universally
recognized, we preferred to prepare a digital facial expressions photography set with
the participation of 40 Turkish volunteers to decrease cultural deviations. The majority
of these volunteers were amateur or professional theatre players. In contrast to the
general acceptance of universal face expressions, several studies indicated that recognition
of facial expressions could vary in different cultures [[9], [14]–[15]]. We collected photographs for each of the six basic facial expressions and one
photograph with a neutral expression. A total 1001 photographs were evaluated according
to three steps. At the first stage, all facial expression photographs were assessed
by the research team (FI, KHG, BC, MKS and NZ) as a consequence, 561 photographs were
accepted for the second stage. At the second stage, a web survey was prepared and
33 volunteers evaluated the 561 photographs. During this stage, we asked each participant
to match images with the correct facial expression, and we used the images that were
correctly recognized (187 photographs, consensus ≥97%). We eliminated the photographs
(68 images) if they were poorly recognized (consensus < 58%) by the participants.
At the final stage, the remaining 306 photographs were evaluated by an additional
396 volunteers, making a total of 427 voluntary participants. For the final evaluation,
the survey was announced on the Facebook and medical informatics mail groups. All
participants were scored according to their consensus with the other participants.
For each photograph, the user’s response was noted and the number of other users with
the same response was recorded. The ratio of this number and the total number of users
was calculated as the consensus score for the photograph. For each user, an overall
mean consensus score was calculated based upon the mean of the consensus scores for
each photograph. Participants whose consensus score was lower than 0.65 were excluded
from the study. Images that were recognized by the remaining participants with a high
degree of consensus (≥85%) were retained in the final set of photographs. The one
exception was that the threshold was decreased to 75% for the fear expression, because
the consensus of volunteers was relatively low in this case. The details of developing
the photography set were as described in a previous study [[16]]. The final set included 364 photographs which were selected from a collection of
1001 photographs, taken of 40 models. The photograph set has been shared for scientific
use (http://yuzifadeleri.org/expressions.htm).
3.2. I am Learning Facial Expressions software (ILFE)
ILFE was designed as an internet-based educational tool in order to make it easily
accessible (http://yuzifadeleri.org/). We used Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Professional Edition, and Microsoft Access
2010 for developing the web site. Programming language was C#, and we also used HTML,
JAVA Script and Jquery libraries The ILFE includes eight serious games, which were
designed using the principles of errorless learning, repetition, feature abstraction,
direct positive reinforcement, and self-instruction. Additionally, all the games were
designed with a consideration for some of the common characteristics of schizophrenia-like
deficiency in social cognition, difficulties in working and long-term memory, attention
deficit, disturbance in executive functioning, and lower speed of processing. Decisions
about the flow of the games were made by a psychiatrist (author BC).
In addition, the usability of ILFE was evaluated in two stages by using heuristic
evaluation and then according the protocol analysis (PA), or the “think aloud” method.
Heuristic evaluation is an evaluation of an interface by one or more experts. Evaluators
measure the usability, efficiency, and effectiveness of the interface based on ten
usability heuristics originally defined by Nielsen [[17]]. According to Nielsen, the number of the evaluators is normally three to five,
since one does not gain that much additional information by using larger numbers.
For our study, seven “Medical Informatics” experts and one computer and education
technologies expert completed the heuristic evaluation questionnaire; the feedback
from evaluators was then used to ascertain ILFE’s design problems. Experts were given
a scenario (task list) before they started the evaluation. Accordingly, they identified
all major and minor problems.
Although a number of usability problems were identified in the assessments of the
experts, studies like the current systems must also be evaluated by real users to
increase the overall system quality and usability. We used PA with real patients as
soon as we had completed the heuristic evaluation.
The PA method requires participants to verbalize their thoughts, feelings, and opinions
during the test. One goal of this approach is to enable the tester to get a better
understanding of the participant’s mental model during interaction with the interface.
Previous studies have indicated that, for extensive usability evaluation methods such
as PA, using a small number of subjects (for instance five) would be sufficient due
to the long evaluation process [[18]]. Therefore, five patients with schizophrenia participated in the PA test. Prior
to the assessment, the purpose of the research and PA was explained to patients and
they were then given some tasks. After the PA, with the help of the data obtained
from patients, we made the final alterations [[19]].
Training Module
Six basic face expression images and brief explanations about these expressions were
present in the training module. The module was developed for patients who wanted to
practice before playing the games or between the games.
Games Module
The games designed for the ILFE have difficulty levels ranging from easy to hard (►[Figure 1]). In order to proceed to the next screens, the patients have to answer the questions
successfully. There is no playing limit for the games; they can keep trying until
they find the correct answer. There are eight games, including a memory card game,
and the games have been designed to be played using a mouse. None of the games requires
advanced computer skills or motor abilities to do complex tasks on keyboards or other
devices. The games have no time limitation except the seventh game. The psychiatrists
in our development team (BC and SSK) suggested that the addition of sounds during
the game might cause a distraction for the patients. Based on this suggestion, we
used no sounds for the games except for applause that plays after a correct answer
along with a ‘well done’ message. In the case of incorrect responses, a ‘try again’
message is immediately given. The patient cannot pass to the next game without giving
a correct answer.
Fig. 1 Screen samples from the games (All text in the figures was translated into English).
Game 1, Name this expression
The user sees an image, and they have to find the correct facial expression text that
matches to the image.
Game 2, Find the correct expression
The user sees an expression text and selects the correct expression from among several
images. The game consists of three levels.
Game 3, Carry the correct image
In the first level, there are four images and one expression. The user must determine
which image matches the expression, and drag the image over the expression with the
help of the mouse. The number of the images increases in the second level. In the
third level, the number of the images and the expressions are equal.
Game 4, Match the image and the expression
The user must find the written expression and drag it to under the appropriate image.
The game starts with three images and in each level it increases by one until there
are 10 images. In this game, if the user makes one or more incorrect match, they fall
one level, if they make all of the matches correctly, they increase one level.
Game 5, Find the same expression
In this game, there is a sample image on the left of the screen, and there are four
images on the right of the screen. These images belong to different people. The user
must find the same expression in the sample image from among the images on the right.
The user must find the same expression from among six images on the second level and
eight images on the third level.
Game 6, Find the different expression
In the first level, there are three images of the same person. Expressions in two
of the images are the same. The user has to find the different expression. In the
second level, the images belong to different people.
Game 7, Balloons
In this game, balloons with facial expressions slide along the screen. Each balloon
disappears within a pre-specified time. The user has to find and click on the balloon
which has the correct facial expression. When they complete a mission, a congratulatory
message appears and gives a new mission as: “Congratulations, you have found all the
HAPPY faces, now your mission is to find SAD faces.” If the user makes nine mistakes,
the game starts from the beginning. The game has seven difficulty levels.
Game 8. Memory cards game
This game needs an additional skill, memory. The user has to find the same expression
in image pairs. In the beginning, all the images are reversed. The user clicks one
of the boxes and sees the image then clicks another box to see the other image. If
the expressions in both images match, the images stay open. If they are different,
both close. Thus, the user has to remember the place of closed images to find the
pairs. The number of the cards increases by level.
3.3. Patients and design
After completing written informed consent, 42 patients with schizophrenia took the
pre-test. Four of those 42 patients recognized 20/21 or 21/21 expressions in the pre-test,
thus they were excluded from this study. It is thought that the facial expression
recognition skills of these patients were not affected by their disease, and no meaningful
improvement would therefore be observed in these patients. Another six patients chose
to leave the study; they were also excluded. The remaining sample consisted of 32
patients with schizophrenia (20 females, 12 males, mean age ± standard deviation;
37.3±9.2). All patients were diagnosed with schizophrenia according to the DSM-IV
(Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Sixth Edition) [[20]], and all were receiving pharmacological treatment with antipsychotics at the time
of the study. Patients experiencing an acute exacerbation of illness were not accepted
to the study. All patients were followed up by Akdeniz University, Department of Psychiatry.
For each participant, performance of facial expression recognition was evaluated by
pre-test and post-test before and after training. The patients were randomly assigned
to the study group (n=18) or to the control group (n=14). There was no statistically
significant difference between the study and control groups in terms of the results
of the psychiatric tests, gender, age, and educational level. The assessment of emotion
recognition (pre-test, post-test) was carried out through the use of a computerized
test of facial emotion recognition. The tests included 21 different photographs (three
for each emotion and three neutral). The participants looked at each of the photographs
one by one and decided on their answer without any time restriction. ►[Figure 2] shows a screen from the online test. Patients got one point for each correct answer.
The pre-test and post-test scores of the patients were compared separately in two
groups. Although the photographs of the pre-test were used in the games, the patients
had never seen the post-test’s photographs prior to the post-test.
Fig. 2 Example of the Emotion Recognition Test: Participants were asked the question, “Which
is the facial expression in this photograph?” Patients chose one of the seven expressions
and pressed the “Next” button to move to the next question in both the pre-/post-tests
(All text in the figures was translated into English).
3.4. Psychiatric Assessment Instruments
The psychopathological statuses of the patients were assessed by two psychiatrists
(BC and SSK) according to the Scale for Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) [[21]–[22]] the Scale for Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS) [[23]–[24]] and the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) [[25]–[26]]. Neuropsychological assessment tools included Serial Digit Learning Test (SDLT)
[[27]–[28]], the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) [[27]–[32]], and Porteus Labirynths [[33]]. Our intention was to document the relation between facial expression recognition
skill and the clinical features of the patients by performing these tests.
3.5. Training of the Patients and Post-Test
Eighteen patients participated in the training sessions during a one month period.
All patients in the training group were informed by an investigator (author FI) about
how to play the games. They were requested to play the games at least twice a week,
on each occasion for a 60-minutes period. Nine patients (50%) had no computer or internet
access in their home, so they used a computer in the hospital while they were playing
the games. Logs were recorded and checked each week. If patients had forgotten to
play the games, they were reminded. At the end of the one-month period, one day after
the training group’s last access to the system, their performance was assessed by
the post-test. The control group also took a post-test one month after the pre-test.
Both groups continued to take their medication with no change during the study period.
3.6. Statistical analysis
Normality was tested with the Shapiro Wilk test. Numeric variables were compared using
the Mann Whitney U test and nominal variables were compared by chi-square tests. For
pair-wise analysis, the Wilcoxon test was used. Correlations were examined by the
Pearson or Spearman rho tests. All of the above tests were performed using the Statistical
Package for Social Sciences 19.0. All tests were two-sided, and p<0.05 was considered
to be significant.
4. Results
There was no significant difference between the training and control groups in terms
of gender (p=0.574), education level (p=0.084), or age (p=0.413). Similarly no significant
difference was observed between the groups regarding psychopathological and neuropsychological
assessments. BPRS (p=0.143), SANS (p=0.764), SAPS (p=0.659), Porteus scores (p=0.593),
SDLT (p=0.233) or WCST scales; WCST-Number of Trials (p=0.112), WCST-Number Correct
(p=0.102)], WCST-Total Errors (p=0.983), WCST-Perseverative Responses (p=0.983), WCST-Nonperseverative
Errors (p=0.722), WCST-Perseverative Errors (p=0.867), WCST-Categories (p=0.898),
WCST-% Perseverative Errors (p=0.867), WCST-Trials to Complete First Category (p=0.437),
WCST-% Conceptual Level Responses (p=0.834), or WCST-Failures to Maintain Set (p=0.112).
In the pre-test, the patients most successfully recognized happy faces (96.9%) followed
by nearly a similar success rate for recognizing surprised faces (95.8%). Success
in recognizing angry, sad, disgusted and neutral facial expressions was 82.3%, 78.1%,
71.0%, and 64.6% respectively. The most difficult facial expression for the patients
to recognize was fear (52.1%). The patients selected “surprised” instead of a correct
“feared” response in 45.8% of the questions.
There were statistical correlations between pre-test scores and neuropsychological
tests. Porteus (p<0.001, r=0.695), IQ (p<0.001, r=0.692), WCST-number correct (p =
0.004, r = 0.512), WCST-total Errors, p = 0.004, r = –0.512), WCST- Nonperseverative
Errors (p = 0.016, r = –0.435), WCST-% Conceptual Level Responses (p=0,019, r=0,578)
and WCST-Trials to Complete First Category (p=0,002, r=0,550).
In one month period, the number of sessions for each game was determined from the
logs. Six games were played median two times, however the Balloons game was played
2.5 times, while the Memory Game was played 4 times by each patient.
The users were asked which game(s) did they enjoyed during the sessions, and 10 of
them expressed their preferences. Seven patients stated that they mostly liked the
Balloons, two of them liked the Memory Game and one liked both the Balloons and the
Memory game. Additionally, seven of the patients expressed the feeling that most of
the games were too easy for them.
The median pre-test score was 16.5 in the study group (minimum-maximum: 8–19, mean±standard
deviation: 15.6±2.8) and 17.5 in the control group (8–19, 16±3.2) on a 21-point scale
(p=0.406). Median post-test scores were 20 (16–21, 19.7±1.2), and 18 (9–19, 16.5±3.1)
in the study and control groups respectively (p<0.001, ►[Figure 3]). The patients’ post-test and pre-test scores were compared by pair-wise analysis
for each group. There was a significant difference (p<0.001) in the training group
patient’s scores whereas the change in the non-training group patient’s scores was
marginally significant (p = 0.052). The mean difference of pre and post-tests in the
study group was 4.1 whereas the mean difference was 0.5 in the control group (p<0.001).
Fig. 3 Boxplot graphic of the training and control groups’ pre and post-test scores. The
horizontal lines within the boxes represent the median of all values. The top end
of the box represents the upper quartile, while the bottom end of the box represents
the lower quartile. The upper end of the whisker above the box plot represents maximum,
and the lower end of the whisker below the box plot represents minimum. Means are
shown by triangles.
5. Discussion
The benefits of serious games on health have been shown in various studies up to this
point [[34]–[36]]. People who have psychiatric diseases, such as schizophrenia, Asperger syndrome
or autism may have impaired recognition of facial expressions [[2]–[5]]. It has been shown by many studies that recognition levels can be increased with
computer-based education software and games [[6]–[8], [37]]. However, none of these software programmes were specifically designed for patients
with schizophrenia. This study describes a web-based education tool (ILFE), which
was specifically developed for training patients with schizophrenia to recognize facial
expressions.
We developed a website for this aim. A new photography set of Turkish people was prepared
to minimize cultural deviations. Unlike past studies [[37]–[38]]; we did not want to idealize the photographs from voluntary models. As such, we
did not determine clothing, make-up, jewellery or hairdress rules for the models;
rather we asked the models to come to the studio in casual style of dress. The flow
of the games was designed with consideration of the characteristics of this patient
group. The games were developed in a web environment to enable the patients to have
easi access at any time and any place where a computer and internet access were available.
As in previous studies [[38]–[40]], we observed that recognition of happy expressions was the highest compared to
other facial expressions, whereas the fear was the lowest. According to Biehl, the
success in recognition of happy faces may be related to its frequency in real life
[[39]]. Indeed, it is probable that people frequently see happy expressions in their life
so they can easily recognize it. On the other hand, it is known that the mesial temporal
lobe structures, implicated in fear processing, are affected in schizophrenia, a possible
contribution to a defect in the recognition of fear [[41]]. However, difficulty in the recognition of fear expression is not specific to patients
with schizophrenia: it is also seen in the normal population [[9], [42]]. Generally, happy expressions represent the only universally recognized positive
emotion, in contrast to multiple negative emotions [[41]]. When we separate expressions as positive and negative, our findings show that
the patients with schizophrenia are more likely to recognize positive expressions
than the negative ones.
We do not have specific information about schizophrenic patients’ preferences for
the properties of computer games in general. This study also sets out to describe
the usage pattern of a game set which was designed for use in schizophrenic patients.
Peterson reports that loss of information from short-term memory begins immediately
after the learning process ends. By three seconds after learning ends, 38% of the
information is lost and by 18 seconds, 85% of information is lost [[43]]. Repetition is very important in ensuring the retention of learned knowledge. Possibly,
repeating is helpful in preventing the loss of learned information. The most fundamental
way of retaining such information is simple repetition: constantly repeating the information
may transfer it from short-term memory to long-term memory [[44]]. Immediate testing after learning is the most effective way to retain knowledge
[[45]]. With the help of these principles, we designed a series of eight games. These
games were inspired by some educational games prepared for children. Six of the games
were very simple: basic visual multiple choice questions or visual matches. These
games were played in a very similar frequency by our patients; they were all played
a median two times by the patients. The two other games, Balloons, and the Memory
Game were more complex. In the Balloons game, the images were moving, and the users
had to catch them in a limited time. The Memory Game needed another skill, remembering
the images. The patients played these two games more, a median 2.5 times for Balloons
and four times for the Memory Game. Interestingly, the patients expressed their preference
for these two games. According to the results of this study, schizophrenic patients
prefer more complex computer games in spite of their particular mental disadvantages.
Schizophrenic patients should, therefore, be evaluated as intelligent adult individuals,
albeit with certain special characteristics. Game designs for schizophrenic patients
should be further investigated to add more information about this special patient
group.
In spite of deficits in attention, executive function, processing speed and working
and long-term memory, patients with schizophrenia are like adults without psychiatric
disorders in preferring more complex computer games. Additional studies are needed
to identify the optimal characteristics and complexity of games for individuals with
schizophrenia.
In some studies, it is reported that a disorder of the recognition of facial expressions
is positively correlated with a disorder of general cognition [[46]–[47]]. According to our findings, Porteus maze test scores, and WCST scores had a positive
correlation with the recognition of facial expressions. In other words, if the patients
with schizophrenia had higher visual-spatial perception scores, they were more successful
in recognizing facial expressions. According to the results of this study, WCST-number
correct, WCST-total Errors, WCST- Nonperseverative Errors, WCST- % Conceptual Level
Responses, WCST-Trials to Complete First Category, Porteus, and IQ scores were correlated
with the level of recognition of facial expressions in patients with schizophrenia.
In contrast to Bryson’s study [[48]], we did not find any relation between the perseverative errors score in WCST and
recognition of facial expressions. This situation may be due to the small number of
patients involved in our study; this should be investigated with more patients. However,
taken together, these findings suggest a possible association of a good cognitive
performance with an improved skill in recognizing facial expressions.
After one month of training, the facial expression recognition ability of the patients
was evaluated for comparison with the pre-test scores. In the study group, a statistically
significant increase in the facial expression recognition score was observed. The
difference between pre- and post-test scores in the control group was close to being
statistically significant (p=0.052). The increase in score in the control group can
be understandable, because the patients were receiving treatment. Nonetheless, the
increase in the post-test scores of the study group was more prominent.
The present study was planned so as to minimize bias. The study and control groups
were similar in composition, confirmed by both demographic data and psychiatric tests.
Both groups were in their routine therapy protocol during the study. However, we did
not plan to make another computer game for the control group to play to equalise the
possible effect of playing computer games on the ability to recognise facial expressions.
Playing computer games may have a positive effect on post-test scores. Half of the
patients were playing the games in the hospital. Social interactions in the hospital
may also have had positive effects on facial recognition ability. In future studies,
researchers should plan to use another game for the control group. This is one limitation
of the study. Additionally, the sample size is small, and thus results should be confirmed
in future studies.
In this research, training was limited to two sessions a week, for a month. The effect
of the duration of the training period may be studied in the future. Moreover, the
evaluation of patient performance was conducted immediately after the end of the training
period. The long term effects – and possible effects – of training on the daily life
of a patient should also be investigated. Increases in facial expression recognition
ability are positive, but the real aim of this training was to improve the clinical
situation of the patients. A more reliable evaluation of the benefit of the games
would be possible with the help of psychiatric assessment instruments. However, we
do not expect a rapid improvement in patients’ ability to recognize facial expressions.
This skill is required for social interactions, but developing social interactions
needs time. It may have a cumulative effect on the clinical situation of the patients
over the course of months or years. Future studies should, therefore, evaluate patients
immediately after training and at several times after training has been completed.
6. Conclusions
It is commonly known that information technology can support individual health in
a variety of situations. The results of this study are promising. Computer games may
be used to educate people who have difficulty recognizing facial expressions.
Multiple Choice Question
According to results of this study, what type of games do patients with schizophrenia
like?
Correct answer: A)
Explanation: Six of the games were very simple; basically just visual multiple choice
questions or visual matches. These games were played at a very similar frequency by
our patients (median two times). Two other games, Balloons, and the Memory Game were
more complex. In the Balloons game, the images were moving, and the users had to catch
them in a limited time. The Memory Game needed another skill: remembering the images.
The patients played these two games more often, a median 2.5 times for the Balloons
and four times for the Memory Game. According to the results of this study, schizophrenic
patients prefer more complex computer games.