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Research Tools & Projects
Research Tools:
The Interpersonal Communication Rating Protocol: A
Manual for Measuring Individual Expressive Behavior
(Parkinson's Disease Version)
The 20-item ICRP-IEB (PD Version) was designed to
measure nonverbal and verbal expressive behavior during
the stream of naturalistic videotaped social
interaction. Ratings are made of discrete actions, such
as smiling, gesturing, bodily movement and vocal tone,
that observers use as cues to form judgments about a
target individual‘s emotions, thoughts, social motives
and personality.
Download the ICRP-IEB (PD Version)
Current Projects:
Seeing Beyond the Symptoms: A Training Program to
Improve Trait Inferences in Parkinson's Disease
PIs: Heather Gray, Kathleen Bogart
Aside from physical symptoms, people with Parkinson's
disease (PD) face a range of negative psychological and
social consequences. For instance, perceivers—even
expert healthcare practitioners—tend to misperceive
their personality traits (Tickle-Degnen & Lyons, 2004).
We suspect that this problem may be attributable to the
difficulty PD patients have expressing themselves
through subtle nonverbal signals. In this project, we
develop and refine a method for improving healthcare
practitioners' ability to form valid impressions of
personality in the context of PD. Our training program
includes important information about how PD changes
peoples' ability to express themselves nonverbally. We
will examine whether novice healthcare practitioners who
receive the training program show improvements in
perceiving personality.
Age Peers' Impressions of Parkinson's disease
PI: Amanda Hemmesch
The goal of this study is to understand more about how
the symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD) influence
peers' first impressions of people with PD. For this
study, older adults are asked to watch short video clips
of individuals with PD and make ratings about what they
see in the clips. The results of this study will provide
more information about the how symptoms of PD influence
the processes underlying how older adults decide which
social relationships to begin and to maintain. We hope
that this research will provide additional information
to help improve social relationships for individuals
with PD.
Compensatory Expressive Behavior for Social Functioning with Facial Paralysis
PI: Kathleen Bogart
This study uses videotaped interview methods to study
how people with facial paralysis communicate their
emotions and how others form impressions about them. We
expect this project to identify effective verbal and
nonverbal communication strategies that people with
facial paralysis can use to express themselves despite
their lack of facial expression.
Completed projects:
Culture, Gender, and Health
Care Stigma in Parkinsonism
R01 project funded by NIH's National Institute of
Neurological Disorders & Stroke
PI: Linda Tickle-Degnen
Co-I: Hui-ing Ma, National Cheng Kung University,
Taiwan
Consultant: Leslie Zebrowitz, Brandeis University
This project used videotape methods to study the effect
of patient culture and gender on healthcare
practitioners' ability to diagnose nonverbal and verbal
expression in people with Parkinson's Disease. Patients
and practitioners in Taiwan and America are
participating in this study. The purpose of this project
was to elucidate the consequences of parkinsonian facial
and bodily movement on practitioner impressions and
conclusions about patient ability to engage in a
successful therapeutic relationship.
Rehabilitation for the Self-Management of Parkinson's
Disease
R01 project funded by NIH's National Institute of Aging
PI: Robert Wagenaar, Boston University
Co-I: Linda Tickle-Degnen
Research Associate: Terry Ellis,
Boston University
This project was a randomized-controlled trial testing
the efficacy of self-management rehabilitation on
day-to-day functioning and quality of life of
community-living people with Parkinson's disease, beyond
the effects of medical treatment alone. The study found
positive effects of the rehabilitation program.
Interdisciplinary rehabilitation was provided by
therapists from the disciplines of physical therapy,
occupational therapy, and speech and language pathology.
Nonverbal and verbal communication outcomes are
currently being analyzed in nearly 500 videotapes of
interviews with 116 people with PD about daily life
experiences while they were engaged in the trial.
Expressing Self-Efficacy in Parkinson's disease
PI: Kayoko Takahashi
The purpose of this study was to develop a way to use
nonverbal behavior to gain insight into the motivational
states of people with PD. The study found there to be
nonverbal cues that appeared to signal motivation states
such as apathy, hopelessness, hopefulness, or resistance
to change. The results of this research could be useful
to rehabilitation therapists who want to better
understand the implications of their clients’ behavior.
Facial Expressiveness and Social Quality of Life in
Parkinson's Disease: A Rapport Mediated Model
PI: Pai-chuan Huang
The goal of this project was to examine the association
between facial expressiveness and social aspects of
quality of life in people with Parkinson's disease (PD),
and to investigate the underlying mechanism of the
association in order to provide recommendations for
developing interventions. People with PD may experience
reduced facial expressions (facial masking), which may
contribute to negative first impressions. In addition,
social quality of life may be compromised. This work
explored the association between facial masking and
reduced social quality of life in PD. In addition to
describing the association between these two factors,
the project also explored reduced capacity to show
rapport behavior.
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