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Concurrent development of facial identity and expression discrimination
Kirsten A Dalrymple1,2, Matteo Visconti di Oleggio Castello3, Jed T Elison1
1Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States of America.
Plos One
|June 16, 2017
Summary
Facial identity and facial expression recognition develop at similar rates in children aged 5-12. Performance improved with age on both tasks, showing comparable development for facial recognition and expression processing.
Area of Science:
- Developmental psychology
- Cognitive neuroscience
- Visual perception
Background:
- Facial identity and expression processing follow protracted developmental paths.
- These developmental trajectories have typically been studied in isolation.
- Direct comparisons of their developmental rates are lacking.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether facial identity and expression processing develop at the same or different rates.
- To compare developmental trajectories using matched discrimination tasks.
- To establish normative data for face processing development.
Main Methods:
- Utilized matched identity and expression discrimination tasks with children aged 5-12 years.
- Identity task involved discriminating between two identities from a morph target.
- Expression task involved discriminating between two expressions from a morph target.
Main Results:
- Performance on both tasks significantly improved with age (accuracy and speed).
- No significant differences in accuracy or reaction times were found between identity and expression tasks.
- No significant interaction between age and task type was observed.
Conclusions:
- Facial identity and facial expression discrimination appear to develop at similar rates during childhood.
- Matched tasks provide a valuable tool for assessing face processing in clinical populations.
- This research offers insights into the typical development of crucial social-cognitive skills.
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