Foundation:

a micro-expression is an activation pattern of the facial muscles of short duration that reveals an emotion that tries to be canceled, usually in scenarios of high levels of emotional tension. Despite their multiple applications in various fields, people have great difficulty in detecting them, including health personnel.

Objective:

to evaluate the effectiveness of the training in micro-expressions tool to increase the capacity of a group of Cuban doctors in the recognition of emotional micro-expressions.

Methods:

quantitative research (pilot study) with an experimental design with different groups (inter-subjects). A design with an independent variable and random groups was selected. The task of emotional recognition and the tool for training in micro-expressions were used in a sample of 70 Cuban doctors.

Results:

the emotional recognition and micro-expressions showed a low performance, specifically in the emotions of anger, disgust, contempt and sadness; Joy and fear were more easily recognized. The existence of an overestimation of the ability to recognize emotions and micro-expressions in the participants was verified. Those who received the training showed a significant increase in the ability to detect emotional micro-expressions.

Conclusions:

the tool for training in micro-expressions demonstrated effectiveness in the increase of capacity to recognize them, with significant values in comparison with the participants who did not receive the training.

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