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Face processing by deaf ASL signers: evidence for expertise in distinguished local features
1University of California, San Diego, USA.
Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education
|December 8, 2004
Summary
American Sign Language (ASL) signers excel at recognizing specific facial features, not general face recognition. This enhanced ability in face processing is linked to ASL
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Linguistics
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Previous studies indicate American Sign Language (ASL) signers demonstrate expertise in specific face recognition tasks, notably the Benton Test.
- The Benton Test assesses the ability to discriminate target faces from distractors under challenging conditions (profile, shadow).
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the underlying reasons for ASL signers' superior performance on specific face processing tests.
- To determine if this enhanced face processing ability extends to other aspects of facial perception and recognition.
Main Methods:
- Experiment 1: Assessed face recognition from memory in ASL signers.
- Experiment 2: Compared gestalt face processing (face perception via closure) between deaf signers and hearing individuals.
- Experiment 3: Evaluated the ability to detect subtle differences in facial features.
Main Results:
- ASL signers' enhanced face processing skills did not extend to recognizing faces from memory.
- Deaf signers and hearing individuals performed similarly on a gestalt face perception task, indicating no difference in holistic face processing.
- ASL signers demonstrated a superior ability to detect subtle variations in facial features.
Conclusions:
- The enhanced face processing in ASL signers is specific to skills relevant for detecting local facial feature configurations.
- This specialization may be attributed to extensive experience with discriminating grammatical facial expressions in ASL and lipreading.
- The findings suggest that expertise in sign language cultivates nuanced, feature-based face perception rather than general facial recognition abilities.
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