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Serafini L, Leo I, Pesciarelli F. Event-related potential correlates of implicit processing of own- and other-race faces in children. J Exp Child Psychol 2024; 238:105773. [PMID: 37703721 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2023.105773] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2023] [Revised: 06/23/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 09/15/2023]
Abstract
Human adults typically experience difficulties in recognizing and discriminating individual faces belonging to racial groups other than their own. The origin of this "other-race" effect is set in infancy, but the understanding of its developmental course is fragmented. We aimed to access the mechanisms of the other-race effect in childhood by unraveling the neural time course of own- and other-race face processing during a masked priming paradigm. White 6- and 7-year-old children (N = 19) categorized fully visible Asian (other-race) or White (own-race) target faces according to gender. Target faces were preceded by masked same-identity or different-identity prime faces, matching the target for race and gender. We showed an early priming effect on the N100 component, with larger amplitude to different-face pairs than to same-face pairs, and a later race effect on the N200 component, with larger amplitude to own-race face pairs than to other-race face pairs. Critically, race did not interact with priming at any processing stage (P100, N100, P200, N200, or P300). Our results suggest that race could have a temporally limited impact on face processing and that the implicit and unconscious identity processing of own- and other-race faces could be similar in 6- and 7-year-olds, depicting an immature other-race effect during childhood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luana Serafini
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic, and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41100 Modena, Italy
| | - Irene Leo
- Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Francesca Pesciarelli
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic, and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41100 Modena, Italy.
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2
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Serafini L, Pesciarelli F. Neural timing of the other-race effect across the lifespan: A review. Psychophysiology 2023; 60:e14203. [PMID: 36371686 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2021] [Revised: 09/20/2022] [Accepted: 10/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Face race influences the way we process faces, so that faces of a different ethnic group are processed for identity less efficiently than faces of one's ethnic group - a phenomenon known as the Other-Race Effect (ORE). Although widely replicated, the ORE is still poorly characterized in terms of its development and the underlying mechanisms. In the last two decades, the Event-Related Potential (ERP) technique has brought insight into the mechanisms underlying the ORE and has demonstrated potential to clarify its development. Here, we review the ERP evidence for a differential neural processing of own-race and other-race faces throughout the lifespan. In infants, race-related processing differences emerged at the N290 and P400 (structural encoding) stages. In children, race affected the P100 (early processing, attention) perceptual stage and was implicitly encoded at the N400 (semantic processing) stage. In adults, processing difficulties for other-race faces emerged at the N170 (structural encoding), P200 (configuration processing) and N250 (accessing individual representations) perceptual stages. Early in processing, race was implicitly encoded from other-race faces (N100, P200 attentional biases) and in-depth processing preferentially applied to own-race faces (N200 attentional bias). Encoding appeared less efficient (Dm effects) and retrieval less recollection-based (old/new effects) for other-race faces. Evidence admits the contribution of perceptual, attentional, and motivational processes to the development and functioning of the ORE, offering no conclusive support for perceptual or socio-cognitive accounts. Cross-racial and non-cross-racial studies provided convergent evidence. Future research would need to include less represented ethnic populations and the developmental population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luana Serafini
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic, and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - Francesca Pesciarelli
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic, and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
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3
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Farrell J, Conte S, Barry-Anwar R, Scott LS. Face race and sex impact visual fixation strategies for upright and inverted faces in 3- to 6-year-old children. Dev Psychobiol 2023; 65:e22362. [PMID: 36811376 PMCID: PMC10928691 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2022] [Revised: 09/23/2022] [Accepted: 11/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Everyday face experience tends to be biased, such that infants and young children interact more often with own-race and female faces leading to differential processing of faces within these groups relative to others. In the present study, visual fixation strategies were recorded using eye tracking to determine the extent to which face race and sex/gender impact a key index of face processing in 3- to 6-year-old children (n = 47). Children viewed male and female upright and inverted White and Asian faces while visual fixations were recorded. Face orientation was found to have robust effects on children's visual fixations, such that children exhibited shorter first fixation and average fixation durations and a greater number of fixations for inverted compared to upright face trials. First fixations to the eye region were also greater for upright compared to inverted faces. Fewer fixations and longer duration fixations were found for trials with male compared to female faces and for upright compared to inverted unfamiliar-race faces, but not familiar-race faces. These findings demonstrate evidence of differential fixation strategies toward different types of faces in 3- to 6-year-old children, illustrating the importance of experience in the development of visual attention to faces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Farrell
- Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - Stefania Conte
- Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, USA
| | - Ryan Barry-Anwar
- Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - Lisa S. Scott
- Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
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4
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Wong HK, Keeble DRT, Stephen ID. Do they 'look' different(ly)? Dynamic face recognition in Malaysians: Chinese, Malays and Indians compared. Br J Psychol 2023; 114 Suppl 1:134-149. [PMID: 36647242 DOI: 10.1111/bjop.12629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2021] [Revised: 12/26/2022] [Accepted: 12/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Previous cross-cultural eye-tracking studies examining face recognition discovered differences in the eye movement strategies that observers employ when perceiving faces. However, it is unclear (1) the degree to which this effect is fundamentally related to culture and (2) to what extent facial physiognomy can account for the differences in looking strategies when scanning own- and other-race faces. In the current study, Malay, Chinese and Indian young adults who live in the same multiracial country performed a modified yes/no recognition task. Participants' recognition accuracy and eye movements were recorded while viewing muted face videos of own- and other-race individuals. Behavioural results revealed a clear own-race advantage in recognition memory, and eye-tracking results showed that the three ethnic race groups adopted dissimilar fixation patterns when perceiving faces. Chinese participants preferentially attended more to the eyes than Indian participants did, while Indian participants made more and longer fixations on the nose than Malay participants did. In addition, we detected statistically significant, though subtle, differences in fixation patterns between the faces of the three races. These findings suggest that the racial differences in face-scanning patterns may be attributed both to culture and to variations in facial physiognomy between races.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hoo Keat Wong
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Semenyih, Malaysia
| | - David R T Keeble
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Semenyih, Malaysia
| | - Ian D Stephen
- School of Social Sciences, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK
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5
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Kawakami K, Friesen JP, Fang X. Perceiving ingroup and outgroup faces within and across nations. Br J Psychol 2022; 113:551-574. [PMID: 35383905 DOI: 10.1111/bjop.12563] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2021] [Accepted: 03/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
The human face is arguably the most important of all social stimuli because it provides so much valuable information about others. Therefore, one critical factor for successful social communication is the ability to process faces. In general, a wide body of social cognitive research has demonstrated that perceivers are better at extracting information from their own-race compared to other-race faces and that these differences can be a barrier to positive cross-race relationships. The primary objective of the present paper was to provide an overview of how people process faces in diverse contexts, focusing on racial ingroup and outgroup members within one nation and across nations. To achieve this goal, we first broadly describe social cognitive research on categorization processes related to ingroups vs. outgroups. Next, we briefly examine two prominent mechanisms (experience and motivation) that have been used to explain differences in recognizing facial identities and identifying emotions when processing ingroup and outgroup racial faces within nations. Then, we explore research in this domain across nations and cultural explanations, such as norms and practices, that supplement the two proposed mechanisms. Finally, we propose future cross-cultural research that has the potential to help us better understand the role of these key mechanisms in processing ingroup and outgroup faces.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Xia Fang
- Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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6
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Bjorklund DF, Hart SL. Infancy Through the Lens of Evolutionary Developmental Science. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-76000-7_1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022] Open
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7
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Clerc O, Fort M, Schwarzer G, Krasotkina A, Vilain A, Méary D, Lœvenbruck H, Pascalis O. Can language modulate perceptual narrowing for faces? Other-race face recognition in infants is modulated by language experience. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL DEVELOPMENT 2021. [DOI: 10.1177/01650254211053054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Between 6 and 9 months, while infant’s ability to discriminate faces within their own racial group is maintained, discrimination of faces within other-race groups declines to a point where 9-month-old infants fail to discriminate other-race faces. Such face perception narrowing can be overcome in various ways at 9 or 12 months of age, such as presenting faces with emotional expressions. Can language itself modulate face narrowing? Many adult studies suggest that language has an impact on the recognition of individuals. For example, adults remember faces previously paired with their native language more accurately than faces paired with a non-native language. We have previously found that from 9 months of age, own-race faces associated with the native language can be learned and recognized whereas own-race faces associated with a non-native language cannot. Based on the language familiarity effect, we hypothesized that the native language could restore recognition of other-race faces after perceptual narrowing has happened. We tested 9- and 12-month-old Caucasian infants. During a familiarization phase, infants were shown still photographs of an Asian face while audio was played either in the native or in the non-native language. Immediately after the familiarization, the familiar face and a novel one were displayed side-by-side for the recognition test. We compared the proportional looking time to the new face to the chance level. Both 9- and 12-month-old infants exhibited recognition memory for the other-race face when familiarized with non-native speech, but not with their native speech. Native language did not facilitate recognition of other-race faces after 9 months of age but a non-native language did, suggesting that 9- and 12-month-olds already have expectations about which language an individual should talk (or at least not talk). Our results confirm the strong links between face and speech processing during infancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivier Clerc
- LPNC, Université Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France
- LPNC, CNRS, Grenoble, France
| | - Mathilde Fort
- LPNC, Université Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France
- Centre de Recherche en NeuroSciences de Lyon, CRNL UMR 5292, Université Lyon 1, Lyon, France
| | - Gudrun Schwarzer
- Department of Developmental Psychology, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Germany
| | - Anna Krasotkina
- Department of Developmental Psychology, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Germany
| | - Anne Vilain
- Gipsa-Lab, Département Parole et Cognition, CNRS UMR 5216 & Université Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France
| | - David Méary
- LPNC, Université Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France
- LPNC, CNRS, Grenoble, France
| | - Hélène Lœvenbruck
- LPNC, Université Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France
- LPNC, CNRS, Grenoble, France
| | - Olivier Pascalis
- LPNC, Université Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France
- LPNC, CNRS, Grenoble, France
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8
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Cavazos JG, Phillips PJ, Castillo CD, O'Toole AJ. Accuracy comparison across face recognition algorithms: Where are we on measuring race bias? ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020; 3:101-111. [PMID: 33585821 DOI: 10.1109/tbiom.2020.3027269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Previous generations of face recognition algorithms differ in accuracy for images of different races (race bias). Here, we present the possible underlying factors (data-driven and scenario modeling) and methodological considerations for assessing race bias in algorithms. We discuss data-driven factors (e.g., image quality, image population statistics, and algorithm architecture), and scenario modeling factors that consider the role of the "user" of the algorithm (e.g., threshold decisions and demographic constraints). To illustrate how these issues apply, we present data from four face recognition algorithms (a previous-generation algorithm and three deep convolutional neural networks, DCNNs) for East Asian and Caucasian faces. First, dataset difficulty affected both overall recognition accuracy and race bias, such that race bias increased with item difficulty. Second, for all four algorithms, the degree of bias varied depending on the identification decision threshold. To achieve equal false accept rates (FARs), East Asian faces required higher identification thresholds than Caucasian faces, for all algorithms. Third, demographic constraints on the formulation of the distributions used in the test, impacted estimates of algorithm accuracy. We conclude that race bias needs to be measured for individual applications and we provide a checklist for measuring this bias in face recognition algorithms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacqueline G Cavazos
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD.,University of Maryland Institute for Advance Computer Studies College Park, MD
| | | | - Carlos D Castillo
- University of Maryland Institute for Advance Computer Studies College Park, MD
| | - Alice J O'Toole
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD.,University of Maryland Institute for Advance Computer Studies College Park, MD
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9
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Woo PJ, Quinn PC, Méary D, Lee K, Pascalis O. A developmental investigation of the other-race categorization advantage in a multiracial population: Contrasting social categorization and perceptual expertise accounts. J Exp Child Psychol 2020; 197:104870. [PMID: 32563132 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2020.104870] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2019] [Revised: 04/13/2020] [Accepted: 04/14/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Most prior studies of the other-race categorization advantage have been conducted in predominantly monoracial societies. This limitation has left open the question of whether tendencies to more rapidly and accurately categorize other-race faces reflect social categorization (own-race vs. other-race) or perceptual expertise (frequent exposure vs. infrequent exposure). To address this question, we tested Malay and Malaysian Chinese children (9- and 10-year-olds) and adults on (a) own-race faces (i.e., Malay faces for Malay participants and Chinese faces for Malaysian Chinese participants), (b) high-frequency other-race faces (i.e., Chinese faces for Malay participants and Malay faces for Malaysian Chinese participants), and (c) low-frequency other-race faces (i.e., Caucasian faces). Whereas the other-race categorization advantage was in evidence in the accuracy data of Malay adults, other aspects of performance were supportive of either the social categorization or perceptual expertise accounts and were dependent on the race (Malay vs. Chinese) or age (child vs. adult) of the participants. Of particular significance is the finding that Malaysian Chinese children and adults categorized own-race Chinese faces more rapidly than high-frequency other-race Malay faces. Thus, in accord with a perceptual expertise account, the other-race categorization advantage seems to be more an advantage for racial categories of lesser experience regardless of whether these face categories are own-race or other-race.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pei Jun Woo
- Department of Psychology, Sunway University, 47500 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.
| | - Paul C Quinn
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA.
| | - David Méary
- Laboratoire de Psychologie et NeuroCognition (LPNC), University of Grenoble-Alpes, 38400 Saint-Martin-d'Hères, France
| | - Kang Lee
- Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1V6, Canada
| | - Olivier Pascalis
- Laboratoire de Psychologie et NeuroCognition (LPNC), University of Grenoble-Alpes, 38400 Saint-Martin-d'Hères, France
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10
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Wong HK, Stephen ID, Keeble DRT. The Own-Race Bias for Face Recognition in a Multiracial Society. Front Psychol 2020; 11:208. [PMID: 32210861 PMCID: PMC7067904 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2019] [Accepted: 01/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The own-race bias (ORB) is a reliable phenomenon across cultural and racial groups where unfamiliar faces from other races are usually remembered more poorly than own-race faces (Meissner and Brigham, 2001). By adopting a yes-no recognition paradigm, we found that ORB was pronounced across race groups (Malaysian-Malay, Malaysian-Chinese, Malaysian-Indian, and Western-Caucasian) when faces were presented with only internal features (Experiment 1), implying that growing up in a profoundly multiracial society does not necessarily eliminate ORB. Using a procedure identical to Experiment 1, we observed a significantly greater increment in recognition performance for other-race faces than for own-race faces when the external features (e.g. facial contour and hairline) were presented along with the internal features (Experiment 2)-this abolished ORB. Contrary to assumptions based on the contact hypothesis, participants' self-reported amount of interracial contact on a social contact questionnaire did not significantly predict the magnitude of ORB. Overall, our findings suggest that the level of exposure to other-race faces accounts for only a small part of ORB. In addition, the present results also support the notion that different neural mechanisms may be involved in processing own- and other-race faces, with internal features of own-race faces being processed more effectively, whereas external features dominate representations of other-race faces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hoo Keat Wong
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Semenyih, Malaysia
| | - Ian D. Stephen
- Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Macquarie Park, NSW, Australia
- Perception in Action Research Centre, Macquarie University, Macquarie Park, NSW, Australia
| | - David R. T. Keeble
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Semenyih, Malaysia
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11
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A critical period for faces: Other-race face recognition is improved by childhood but not adult social contact. Sci Rep 2019; 9:12820. [PMID: 31492907 PMCID: PMC6731249 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-49202-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2019] [Accepted: 08/21/2019] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Poor recognition of other-race faces is ubiquitous around the world. We resolve a longstanding contradiction in the literature concerning whether interracial social contact improves the other-race effect. For the first time, we measure the age at which contact was experienced. Taking advantage of unusual demographics allowing dissociation of childhood from adult contact, results show sufficient childhood contact eliminated poor other-race recognition altogether (confirming inter-country adoption studies). Critically, however, the developmental window for easy acquisition of other-race faces closed by approximately 12 years of age and social contact as an adult — even over several years and involving many other-race friends — produced no improvement. Theoretically, this pattern of developmental change in plasticity mirrors that found in language, suggesting a shared origin grounded in the functional importance of both skills to social communication. Practically, results imply that, where parents wish to ensure their offspring develop the perceptual skills needed to recognise other-race people easily, childhood experience should be encouraged: just as an English-speaking person who moves to France as a child (but not an adult) can easily become a native speaker of French, we can easily become “native recognisers” of other-race faces via natural social exposure obtained in childhood, but not later.
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12
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Juvrud J, Rennels JL, Kayl AJ, Gredebäck G, Herlitz A. Attention during Visual Preference Tasks: Relation to Caregiving and Face Recognition. INFANCY 2019; 24:356-367. [PMID: 32677193 DOI: 10.1111/infa.12285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2018] [Revised: 01/09/2019] [Accepted: 01/23/2019] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
This research examined how caregiver experience (female primary caregiver or distributed caregiving with mom and dad) influenced 10-, 14-, and 16-month-olds' visual preferences and attention toward internal facial features of female-male face pairs, and how these behaviors related to novelty preferences in a face recognition task and speed and accuracy on a visual search task. In the visual preference task, infants visually preferred male faces, regardless of caregiver experience. Despite similarities in visual preferences, infants' attention toward females and males' internal facial features was related for infants with distributed caregiving only. Infants' performance across face processing tasks most often correlated for those with female primary caregivers. Results further our understanding of how infants with female primary caregivers display specialized processing of female faces, and how infants with distributed caregiving show similarities in their attention to female and male facial features.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Andrea J Kayl
- Department of Psychology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
| | | | - Agneta Herlitz
- Division of Psychology, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet
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13
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Cavazos JG, Noyes E, O'Toole AJ. Learning context and the other-race effect: Strategies for improving face recognition. Vision Res 2019; 157:169-183. [PMID: 29604301 PMCID: PMC8805210 DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2018.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2017] [Revised: 03/06/2018] [Accepted: 03/08/2018] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
People recognize faces of their own race more accurately than faces of other races-a phenomenon known as the "Other-Race Effect" (ORE). Previous studies show that training with multiple variable images improves face recognition. Building on multi-image training, we take a novel approach to improving own- and other-race face recognition by testing the role of learning context on accuracy. Learning context was either contiguous, with multiple images of each identity seen in sequence, or distributed, with multiple images of an identity randomly interspersed among different identities. In two experiments, East Asian and Caucasian participants learned own- and other-races faces either in a contiguous or distributed order. In Experiment 1, people learned each identity from four highly variable face images. In Experiment 2, identities were learned from one image, repeated four times. In both experiments we found a robust other-race effect. The effect of learning context, however, differed depending on the variability of the learned images. The distributed presentation yielded better recognition when people learned from single repeated images (Exp. 1), but not when they learned from multiple variable images (Exp. 2). Overall, performance was better with multiple-image training than repeated single image training. We conclude that multiple-image training and distributed learning can both improve recognition accuracy, but via distinct processes. The former broadens perceptual tolerance for image variation from a face, when there are diverse images available to learn. The latter effectively strengthens the representation of differences among similar faces, when there is only a single learning image.
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14
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Tham DSY, Woo PJ, Bremner JG. Development of the other-race effect in Malaysian-Chinese infants. Dev Psychobiol 2018; 61:107-115. [PMID: 30239984 DOI: 10.1002/dev.21783] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2018] [Revised: 08/03/2018] [Accepted: 08/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Little is known about how infants born and raised in a multiracial environment process own- and other-race faces. We investigated face recognition of 3- to 4-month-old (N = 36) and 8- to 9-month-old (N = 38) Chinese infants from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, a population that is considered multiracial, using female and male faces that are of infants' own-race (Chinese), experienced other-race (Malay) and less experienced other-race (Caucasian-White). Three- to 4-month-olds recognized own-race female faces, whereas 8- to 9-month-olds also recognized experienced other-race female faces (Malay) in addition to own-race female faces (Chinese). Furthermore, infants from this population did not show recognition for male faces at any age. This contrasts with 8- to 9-month-old British-White infants (Tham, Bremner, & Hay, ), a group that is considered single-race, who recognized female and male own-race faces. It appears that for infants born and raised in a multiracial environment, there is a developmental shift from a female-based own-race recognition advantage to a female-based own- and experienced other-race advantage that may relate to infants' social and caregiving experiences.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Pei Jun Woo
- Department of Psychology, Sunway University, Bandar Sunway, Malaysia
| | - J Gavin Bremner
- Department of Psychology, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
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15
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Are We Face Experts? Trends Cogn Sci 2018; 22:100-110. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2017.11.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 115] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2017] [Revised: 11/20/2017] [Accepted: 11/28/2017] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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16
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Abstract
The fact that the face is a source of diverse social signals allows us to use face and person perception as a model system for asking important psychological questions about how our brains are organised. A key issue concerns whether we rely primarily on some form of generic representation of the common physical source of these social signals (the face) to interpret them, or instead create multiple representations by assigning different aspects of the task to different specialist components. Variants of the specialist components hypothesis have formed the dominant theoretical perspective on face perception for more than three decades, but despite this dominance of formally and informally expressed theories, the underlying principles and extent of any division of labour remain uncertain. Here, I discuss three important sources of constraint: first, the evolved structure of the brain; second, the need to optimise responses to different everyday tasks; and third, the statistical structure of faces in the perceiver’s environment. I show how these constraints interact to determine the underlying functional organisation of face and person perception.
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17
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Libertus K, Landa RJ, Haworth JL. Development of Attention to Faces during the First 3 Years: Influences of Stimulus Type. Front Psychol 2017; 8:1976. [PMID: 29204130 PMCID: PMC5698271 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2017] [Accepted: 10/27/2017] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
The development of attention toward faces was explored during the first 3 years of life in 54 children aged between 3 and 36 months. In contrast to previous research, attention to faces was assessed using both static images and a dynamic video sequence in the same participants. Separate analyses at each age and exploratory longitudinal analyses indicate a preference for faces during the first year, followed by a decline during the second year. These results suggest that attention to faces does not follow a linear increasing pattern over development, and that social attention patterns are influenced by stimulus characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klaus Libertus
- Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Rebecca J. Landa
- Center for Autism and Related Disorders, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Joshua L. Haworth
- Science & Learning Center, Whittier College, Whittier, CA, United States
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