Nonverbal Sensitivity in Adolescence

Abstract

Nonverbal sensitivity is the ability to perceive and interpret social interaction cues, which is crucial in enhancing social dynamics, psychological well-being, and success in various life domains. While adults are generally believed to possess greater nonverbal sensitivity than children, the timeline for its development remains inadequately explored, particularly during adolescence. This study investigates the capacity of adolescents to infer emotional and social information from visual scenes and compares it to adults' abilities. The sample comprised 79 adolescents and 89 adults, with a balanced gender distribution (55.1% male), recruited through community advertisements. Participants were shown line-drawn images of social interactions (Teh et al., 2019) for durations of 1 second and 2 seconds, focusing on dimensions such as valence, intensity, and degree of social engagement. Accuracy scores were created by comparing gender-matched normed means (Teh et al., 2019). While accuracy scores did not differ significantly between the two viewing durations, increased accuracy was noted for intensity interpretations at the 2-second mark. Notably, age-related differences emerged in the valence condition, with adolescents demonstrating lower accuracy than adults. Additionally, gender differences were observed in both the valence and degree of social engagement dimensions, with females outperforming males. These findings indicate that even brief exposures (1 second) can yield reasonably accurate inferences, but adolescents exhibited a negativity bias, interpreting social scenes more negatively. This aligns with prevailing developmental theories on social processing during adolescence. This research contributes to a better understanding of nonverbal sensitivity in adolescents and underscores its significance for social perception.