Children view own-age faces qualitatively differently to other-age faces. Issue 5 (3rd July 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hills, Peter J.; Willis, Susan F. L.
• Is Part Of: Journal of cognitive psychology. Volume 28:Issue 5(2016)
• Page Start: 601
• Page End: 610
• Publication Date: 2016-07-03
• Subjects: Eye-tracking -- perceptual expertise -- own-age bias -- face recognition -- pupillometry; Cognitive psychology -- Periodicals; 153.05
• DOI: 10.1080/20445911.2016.1164710
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2044-5911

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Like most own-group biases in face recognition, the own-age bias (OAB) is thought to be based either on perceptual expertise or socio-cognitive motivational mechanisms [Wolff, N., Kemter, K., Schweinberger, S. R., & Wiese, H. (2013). What drives social in-group biases in face recognition memory? ERP evidence from the own-gender bias. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience . doi:10.1093/scan/nst024]. The present study employed a recognition paradigm with eye-tracking in order to assess whether participants actively viewed faces of their own-age differently to that of other-age faces. The results indicated a significant OAB (superior recognition for own-age relative to other-age faces), provided that they were upright, indicative of expertise being employed for the recognition of own-age faces. However, the eye-tracking results indicate that viewing other-age faces was qualitatively different to the viewing of own-age faces, with more nose fixations for other-age faces. These results are interpreted as supporting the socio-cognitive model of the OAB.