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Face inversion and contrast‐reversal effects across development: in contrast to the expertise theory
Author(s) -
Itier Roxane J.,
Taylor Margot J.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
developmental science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.801
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1467-7687
pISSN - 1363-755X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-7687.2004.00342.x
Subject(s) - psychology , contrast (vision) , cognitive psychology , face (sociological concept) , recognition memory , developmental psychology , facial recognition system , cognition , neuroscience , pattern recognition (psychology) , artificial intelligence , social science , sociology , computer science
To determine the role of configural changes on the development of face encoding and memory, we investigated face recognition in an n‐back repetition task with upright, inverted and contrast‐reversed unfamiliar faces in adults and children (8–16 years). Repetitions occurred immediately (0‐lag) or after one intervening face (1‐lag). Face recognition continued to develop beyond 14–16 years, as shown with hit rates, d’ scores and reaction times that all improved with age. Inversion and contrast‐reversal effects were found in all subjects but were not more pronounced with increasing age, suggesting no increased reliance on configural processing and thus arguing against the expertise theory of Diamond and Carey (1986) . Recognition improved with age in upright but also in inverted and contrast‐reversed faces, suggesting a quantitative rather than a qualitative developmental change in face processing. For all age groups, performances decreased and reaction times increased from 0‐ to 1‐lag conditions similarly, suggesting a similar memory component involved in adults’ and children's processing. These data suggest gradual quantitative improvements in face processing with age, mainly due to increasing working memory processing capacity.