Transexuals' Recognition of Emotions as Measured by the FEEL-Test

H. Kessler, D. Michallik, F. Pfäfflin

The study investigates the ability of transsexuals (TS) to recognize facially expressed basic emotions. It was hypothesized that, due to their discomfort in their gender role, this ability might be diminished in TS. In addition it was expected that emotion recognition improves during the course of transgendering, e.g., after having started the Real-life Experience (RLE) which regularly reduces stress levels. Finally it was hypothesized that TS do better in recognizing facial emotions when the person showing them has their desired sex and gender. To test these hypotheses the FEEL-test (Facially Expressed Emotion Labelling) was used. Forty-seven TS and 55 non-transsexual controls matched for age and sex were included in the study. The first hypothesis was confirmed. As regards the second hypothesis, no differences could be found between the groups at different stages in the transition between the two genders. The third hypothesis was also rejected: TS recognized facially expressed basic emotions from male and female stimuli independently of their desired sex. doi:10.1300/J485v09n02_02