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Race-Based Perceptual Asymmetry in Face Processing Is Evident Early in Life
Angela Hayden1, Ramesh S Bhatt1, Ashley Kangas1
1Department of Psychology University of Kentucky.
Summary
At 3.5 months old, infants show a preference for looking at own-race faces over other-race faces. This suggests early development of race-based face processing mechanisms, known as the other-race effect (ORE).
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Social Psychology
Background:
- Adults exhibit differential processing of own-race versus other-race faces.
- The other-race effect (ORE) is a proposed mechanism for this specialization.
- Previous research identified ORE in adults and 9-month-old infants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the presence of the other-race effect (ORE) in 3.5-month-old infants.
- To determine if sensitivity to other-race features emerges in early infancy.
Main Methods:
- Caucasian 3.5-month-old infants were presented with visual stimuli.
- Stimuli included patterns with a single Asian face among Caucasian faces and vice versa.
- Control conditions (homogeneous arrays, inverted faces) were used to rule out alternative explanations.
Main Results:
- Infants looked longer at a pattern with a single Asian face among Caucasian faces.
- This preference was not due to face majority or low-level visual features.
- A significant asymmetry in looking time indicated greater salience of an other-race face among own-race faces.
Conclusions:
- 3.5-month-old infants demonstrate sensitivity to the other-race effect (ORE).
- This suggests a rapid development of race-based face processing specialization early in life.
- A key mechanism of adult race-based processing has an early onset in infancy.
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