Configural face perception in childhood and adolescence: An individual differences approach

Cognitive experimental and neuroscientific research in adults indicates that an important property of face perception is its specificity and reliance on configural processing. In addition, individual differences in face perception between adults cannot be entirely explained through general cognitive functioning and object cognition. Although recent years have witnessed growing interest in the development of face perception through childhood and adolescence, as yet, little is known about individual differences in configural face perception in this period of life, and whether these differences are face-specific. Here, we addressed these questions in a large sample (N = 338) drawn continuously from age six to 21. We applied a face composite task and a spatial manipulation task including stimulus inversion. Immediate and delayed face memory were assessed as covariates of configural face perception. Content specificity in configural face perception was tested by analogous tasks with houses as stimuli. In addition, we measured working memory and fluid intelligence. Our results show that there are large individual differences in configural face perception across the entire age range from six to 21 years. Supporting theories of early maturation, configural face perception was almost adult-like already at age six. Individual differences in configural face perception were related with immediate and delayed face memory and fluid intelligence across the whole age range. In sum, we provide novel evidence on large individual differences in configural face and object perception already in middle childhood, complementing findings from aging studies and providing new perspectives for further research.