Right-hemisphere lateralisation evidenced from the chimeric face task predicts self-reported social competencies.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Social Psychology

Background:

• Face processing is crucial for social interaction.
• Neural correlates of face processing show right-hemisphere lateralization.
• The functional role of this brain asymmetry in social competence is under-explored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the hypothesis that a left-visual-field (right-hemisphere) bias in face perception is associated with broader social competencies.
• To explore the relationship between right-hemisphere dominance in face processing and self-reported social skills.

Main Methods:

• Online experiment with 348 participants.
• Chimeric face task to assess visual field bias in face perception.
• Face emotion recognition task and Multidimensional Social Competence Scale administered.

Main Results:

• Overall social competencies were predicted by the degree of right-hemisphere bias (laterality quotient, LQ).
• Social inferencing and non-verbal sending skills were significantly predicted by LQ.
• The predictive role of LQ was independent of face emotion recognition ability.

Conclusions:

• A novel relationship exists between the lateralization of face processing and social competencies.
• Right-hemisphere bias in face perception is linked to social inferencing and non-verbal communication skills.
• This suggests a broader role for right-hemisphere face processing lateralization in social cognition beyond emotion recognition.