On this page, you will find training programs and assessment tools that we have developed within our research. You can download most of our tools free of charge. Find more information by clicking on the respective page.
Socio-emotional training programs
Zirkus Empathico Training
Our serious game Zirkus Empathico is aimed at autistic and typically developed children of pre-school and primary school age. Based on learning principles of behavior therapy, the tablet-supported training promotes emotional recognition in facial expressions and context, awareness of one’s own feelings and emotional regulation, as well as emotional empathy and prosocial behavior. Training access available from Simone Kirst.
Social Cognition Training Tool
Recognizing the feelings of others varies considerably and can be impaired, such as in people with autism. In this project we develop the Social Cognition Training Tool (S.C.O.T.T.) to help people to better recognize and understand feelings. In three different training modules, specific information about the feelings (facial expressions, voice and social context) is playfully linked to each other at different levels of difficulty.
Socio-emotional competence assessment tools
Virtual interaction taSK
The Virtual Interaktion Task (VIT) is a simulated social interaction which balances naturalism and standardization by putting the participant in an interactive naturalistic situation with a recorded counterpart. New computer-based technologies are used to automatically and objectively analyse the participant’s facial expression, gaze behaviour and voice modulation during the conversation. This allows for a completely non-intrusive measurement of non-verbal behaviour without any additional equipment.
Berlin Emotion Recognition Test
The Berlin Emotion Recognition Test (BERT) is a computer-based task for sensitively assessing emotion recognition. It consists of a total of 48 photographs of facial expressions of professional actors displaying one of the six basic emotions.
Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition
The Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition (MASC) is a sensitive video-based test for the evaluation of subtle mindreading difficulties. It requires study subjects to watch a 15 min movie about four characters getting together for a dinner party. Afterwards, questions concerning the characters’ feelings, thoughts, and intentions are asked. Further information can be found here:
Dziobek, I., Fleck, S., Kalbe, E., Rogers, K., Hassenstab, J., Brand, M., Kessler, J., Woike, J. K., Wolf, J. T., Convit, A. (2006). Introducing MASC: A Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition. Journal of Autism and Devevelopmental Disorders; 36, 623–636. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-006-0107-0.
If you are interested in employing the MASC in your research work please contact support.clinpsysocint@hu-berlin.de.
Multifaceted Empathy Test
The Multifaceted Empathy Test (MET) measures both cognitive and emotional components of empathy. It includes of a total of 40 pictures depicting individuals of varying gender, age, ethnicity, and socio-economic status in emotionally charged situations with 20 images depicting positive/pleasant and 20 depicting negative/unpleasant emotions. Further information can be found here:
Foell, J., Brislin, S.J., Drislane, L.E. et al. Creation and Validation of an English-Language Version of the Multifaceted Empathy Test (MET). Journal of Psychopatholigical Behavioral Assessment 40, 431–439 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-018-9664-8
If you are interested in employing the MASC in your research work please contact support.clinpsysocint@hu-berlin.de.
Face Puzzle
Face Puzzle consists of two independently applicable tasks for the assessment of implicit and explicit emotion recognition abilities from faces using dynamic and thus more naturalistic video-based stimulus material comprising basic as well as complex emotions. Further information can be found here:
Kliemann, D., Rosenblau, G., Bölte, S., Heekeren, H. R. and Dziobek, I. (2013) Face puzzle—two new video-based tasks for measuring explicit and implicit aspects of facial emotion recognition. Frontiers in Psychology. 4:376. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00376
This emotion does not exist
Emotions and their perception remain difficult to research for numerous reasons, some of which are associated with the methodological approaches traditionally employed. This online application is an interactive visualization of the relationship between facial expressions and their emotional perception (English only).
