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Developmental origins of the face inversion effect.

Cara H Cashon¹, Nicholas A Holt¹

¹Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USA.

Advances in Child Development and Behavior

|March 5, 2015

Summary

Infants develop expertise for upright faces early in life. By one year, their face processing is specialized, laying the foundation for adult face recognition abilities.

Keywords:

Configural processing Development Face expertise Face perception Face processing Holistic processing Infant Inversion effect Perceptual narrowing

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Area of Science:

Developmental psychology
Cognitive neuroscience
Human infant perception

Background:

Adults exhibit expertise in recognizing upright faces over inverted ones, a phenomenon known as the face inversion effect.
Understanding the developmental trajectory of this effect in infants is crucial for comprehending face expertise development.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the developmental origins of the face inversion effect in human infants.
To review research on infant face perception, focusing on the impact of inversion during the first year of life.

Main Methods:

Review of existing research on infant face perception, including studies on face preference, recognition, and processing.
Analysis of developmental patterns in holistic and second-order configural processing, scanning behavior, and neural responses to faces.
Examination of the influence of inversion on various aspects of face perception in infants.

Main Results:

The face inversion effect emerges within the first few months of life and strengthens throughout the first year.
Infants' face processing becomes increasingly specialized for upright faces by the end of the first year.
Developmental changes in face perception indicate the establishment of a foundation for adult-like upright face expertise.

Conclusions:

The origins of the face inversion effect are rooted in early infancy, with specialization for upright faces developing over the first year.
Infant face processing systems show significant specialization for upright faces by 12 months of age.
Physical and social development likely play roles in making upright faces more meaningful, facilitating upright-face specialization.