Attention allocation towards own face is pronounced during middle adolescence: an eye-tracking study

Increased interest in the self has long been deemed to be one of the most peculiar characteristics of adolescence. On the basis of this, we conjectured that attentiveness towards self-relevant information, especially one's own face, becomes more pronounced during the middle adolescence. The present study tested this hypothesis by comparing the pattern of visuospatial attention allocation to their own face among early, middle and late adolescent males using an eye-tracking methodology. The results have shown a clear pattern of increased attention allocation towards their own face over a close friend's and a stranger's face in middle adolescents, but fixation durations on their own and a friend's face did not differ from each other in early and late adolescents. In addition, middle adolescents showed higher public self-consciousness and a lower level of self-esteem than early and late adolescents, respectively. These results indicate that attention allocation towards one's own face is more pronounced during middle adolescence, and is associated with increased interest in their own attributes.