Past research has shown that top-heaviness is a perceptual property that plays a crucial role in triggering newborns’ preference toward faces. The present study examined the contribution of a second configural property, congruency, to newborns’ face preference. Experiments 1 and 2 demonstrated that, when embedded in non-facelike stimuli, congruency induces a preference of the same strength of that induced by facedness. Experiments 3 and 4 demonstrated that the attentional biases toward facedness and congruency produce a cumulative effect on newborns’ visual preferences according to an additive model. These findings were extended by those of Experiment 5, showing that the additive model holds true when congruency is added to top-heaviness in non-facelike stimuli displaying more elements in the upper portion.

Macchi Cassia, V., Valenza, E., Simion, F., Leo, I. (2008). Congruency as a non-specific perceptual property contributing to newborns’ face preference. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 79(4), 807-820 [10.1111/j.1467-8624.2008.01160.x].

Congruency as a non-specific perceptual property contributing to newborns’ face preference

Macchi Cassia, V
;
2008

Abstract

Past research has shown that top-heaviness is a perceptual property that plays a crucial role in triggering newborns’ preference toward faces. The present study examined the contribution of a second configural property, congruency, to newborns’ face preference. Experiments 1 and 2 demonstrated that, when embedded in non-facelike stimuli, congruency induces a preference of the same strength of that induced by facedness. Experiments 3 and 4 demonstrated that the attentional biases toward facedness and congruency produce a cumulative effect on newborns’ visual preferences according to an additive model. These findings were extended by those of Experiment 5, showing that the additive model holds true when congruency is added to top-heaviness in non-facelike stimuli displaying more elements in the upper portion.
Articolo in rivista - Articolo scientifico
face preference; newborns; congruence; innate bias
English
2008
79
4
807
820
none
Macchi Cassia, V., Valenza, E., Simion, F., Leo, I. (2008). Congruency as a non-specific perceptual property contributing to newborns’ face preference. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 79(4), 807-820 [10.1111/j.1467-8624.2008.01160.x].
File in questo prodotto:
Non ci sono file associati a questo prodotto.

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10281/5418
Citazioni
  • Scopus 42
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 37
Social impact