URBANA, Ill., July 18 (UPI) -- U.S. adults who are highly anxious can perceive changes in facial expressions more quickly than adults who are less anxious, a study shows.
By jumping to emotional conclusions, however, highly anxious adults may make more errors in judgment and perpetuate a cycle of conflict and misunderstanding in their relationships, according to study co-author R. Chris Fraley, a professor of psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
"Facial cues play an important role in how individuals perceive information that is relevant to attachment concerns," said Fraley. "Our findings suggest that highly anxious individuals -- people who are very insecure about their relationships -- are more vigilant in monitoring the facial cues of others, but also make more mistakes in interpreting the emotional states behind facial expressions."
The 'hair trigger' style of perceptual sensitivity may be one reason why highly-anxious people experience greater conflict in their relationships, according to Fraley.
"The irony is that they have the ability to make their judgments more accurately than less-anxious people, but, because they are so quick to make judgments about others' emotions, they tend to mistakenly infer other people's emotional states and intentions," said Fraley.
The findings are reported in the August issue of the Journal of Personality.
