Perceptual and gaze biases during face processing: related or not?

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Visual Perception

Background:

• Previous research suggests a left perceptual bias in face processing, linked to right hemisphere dominance and left gaze bias.
• This bias implies observers rely more on the left side of a face for judgment tasks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between perceptual bias and eye movements during face perception.
• To determine if a left perceptual bias is consistently observed under varying experimental conditions.

Main Methods:

• Eye movements were recorded during a gender judgment task using normal and chimeric faces.
• Faces were presented in different positions, and participants either fixated centrally or made saccades.
• The influence of saccade number and face position on perceptual and gaze biases was analyzed.

Main Results:

• A systematic left perceptual bias was not found; it varied with saccade allowance and face position.
• Gaze bias was dependent on face position, with initial fixations directed towards the closest half-face.
• No clear link was established between gaze patterns and perceptual biases in face gender judgment.

Conclusions:

• The study challenges the consistent link between left perceptual bias and left gaze bias in face processing.
• Face perception and gaze behavior are influenced by face position and experimental methodology.
• Inter-individual differences in perceptual bias highlight the need for personalized analysis in face perception research.