Open AccessDevelopment of visual preference for own- versus other-race faces in infancy.
Author(s) -
Shaoying Liu,
Wen Xiao,
Na Xiao,
Paul C. Quinn,
Yueyan Zhang,
Hui Chen,
Liezhong Ge,
Olivier Pascalis,
Lan Kang
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
developmental psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.318
H-Index - 213
eISSN - 1939-0599
pISSN - 0012-1649
DOI - 10.1037/a0038835
Subject(s) - psychology , race (biology) , preference , eye tracking , developmental psychology , visual perception , contrast (vision) , perception , face perception , cognitive psychology , neuroscience , artificial intelligence , botany , computer science , economics , biology , microeconomics
Previous research has shown that 3-month-olds prefer own- over other-race faces. The current study used eye-tracking methodology to examine how this visual preference develops with age beyond 3 months and how infants differentially scan between own- and other-race faces when presented simultaneously. We showed own- versus other-race face pairs to 3-, 6-, and 9-month-old Chinese infants. In contrast with 3-month-olds' visual preference for own-race faces, 9-month-olds preferentially looked more at other-race faces. Analyses of eye-tracking data revealed that Chinese infants processed own- and other-race faces differentially. These findings shed important light on the role of visual experience in the development of visual preference and its relation to perceptual narrowing.