Implicit Extraversion Face-Trait Judgements in Developmental Prosopagnosia

Background/Objectives: Developmental prosopagnosia (DP) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by lifelong difficulties in face recognition. Although substantial work has examined identity-processing impairments in DP, less is known about whether these difficulties extend to other aspects of social cognition, including implicit trait judgements from faces. Prior research using Implicit Association Task (IAT) paradigms shows that neurotypical observers can automatically associate facial composites with personality traits such as extraversion. Although some studies report preserved explicit social evaluations in DP, to our knowledge, no previous work has assessed whether individuals with DP can form implicit personality trait impressions from faces. Methods: Using a cross-sectional experimental design, the present study examined whether adults with DP (N = 36) exhibit implicit extraversion trait associations, using a validated extraversion IAT online via Gorilla, following institutional ethics approval. Results: Group-level analyses showed a significant IAT effect, indicating sensitivity to congruent face-trait pairings. Single-case analyses using Crawford and Garthwaite's modified t-test showed that no participant scored significantly below the normative neurotypical range. Conclusions: These findings indicate that implicit trait inference performance can remain within the normative range in DP despite severe identity recognition impairments, consistent with relative independence between social-evaluative and identity-related face-processing mechanisms.