Social perception, social performance, and self-perception. A study with psychiatric and nonpsychiatric groups.

Fingeret et al. (1985) compared three groups of adults. One group had psychiatric diagnoses. The other two groups had no mental-health history.

The team gave everyone the same tests. They measured how well people read faces, voices, and body language. They also rated each person’s social skills and self-confidence.

The psychiatric group scored lower on every measure. They misread facial expressions more often. They spoke less smoothly in conversations. They also rated themselves as more awkward and more anxious.

The gaps were large enough to see without statistics. The authors concluded that social-perception problems are a core part of adult psychiatric disorders.

Andrés-Roqueta et al. (2021) later found the same pattern in adults with Down syndrome. Both studies show that clinical adult groups struggle with emotion understanding. The 2021 paper adds detail: different error types link to memory and language levels.

Wilkins et al. (2009) looked at kids who had both ID and ASD. Like the 1985 adults, the kids could name emotions yet still acted oddly in real chats. This splits recognition from reaction, a nuance the older paper missed.

Leaf et al. (2012) sharpened the point for teens with ASD. Receptive skills stayed intact, but expressive skills fell apart. Together these papers turn the blunt 1985 finding into a roadmap: assess expressive use, not just receptive understanding.

If you run social-skills groups for adults, probe both sides of communication. Check whether clients can read cues and also send clear ones. Add role-play so they practice expressive body language, not just label photos. Target self-talk too; the 1985 group felt anxious even when they got items right. Reducing that anxiety may boost the skill you just taught.