This study was aimed at investigating the face preference phenomenon and its underlying mechanisms at 3 months of age. Using an eye-tracker apparatus, Experiment 1 demonstrated that 3-month-olds prefer natural face images to unnatural ones, replicating and extending previous evidence obtained with schematic facelike stimuli. Experiments 2 and 3 showed that the general mechanisms that induce face preference in newborns could not explain the same phenomenon at 3 months of age, when infants are attracted by perceptual cues more specific to faces. This suggests that signs of a process of cognitive specialization are already present in 3-month-olds' visual behavior toward faces. © 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Turati, C., Valenza, E., Leo, I., Simion, F. (2005). Three-month-olds' visual preference for faces and its underlying visual processing mechanisms. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL CHILD PSYCHOLOGY, 90(3), 255-273 [10.1016/j.jecp.2004.11.001].
Three-month-olds' visual preference for faces and its underlying visual processing mechanisms
TURATI, CHIARA;
2005
Abstract
This study was aimed at investigating the face preference phenomenon and its underlying mechanisms at 3 months of age. Using an eye-tracker apparatus, Experiment 1 demonstrated that 3-month-olds prefer natural face images to unnatural ones, replicating and extending previous evidence obtained with schematic facelike stimuli. Experiments 2 and 3 showed that the general mechanisms that induce face preference in newborns could not explain the same phenomenon at 3 months of age, when infants are attracted by perceptual cues more specific to faces. This suggests that signs of a process of cognitive specialization are already present in 3-month-olds' visual behavior toward faces. © 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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