Editorial: Face Perception across the Life-Span

Face perception is a highly evolved visual skills in humans. This complex ability develops across the life-span, steeply rising in infancy, refining across childhood and adolescence, reaching highest levels in adulthood and declining in old age. As such, the development of face perception comprises multiple skills, including sensory (e.g., mechanisms of holistic, configural and featural perception), cognitive (e.g., memory, processing speed, attentional control), and also emotional and social (e.g., reading and interpreting facial expression) domains. Whereas our understanding of specific functional domains involved in face perception is growing, there is further pressing demand for a multidisciplinary approach toward a more integrated view, describing how face perception ability relates to and develops with other domains of sensory and cognitive functioning. In this research topic we bring together a collection of papers that provide a shot of the current state of the art of theorizing and investigating face perception from the perspective of multiple ability domains. We would like to thank all authors for their valuable contributions that advanced our understanding of face and emotion perception across development

The two-systems account of theory of mind : testing the links to social-perceptual and cognitive abilities

According to the two-systems account of Theory of Mind (ToM), understanding mental states of others involves both fast social-perceptual processes, as well as slower, reflexive cognitive operations (Apperly and Butterfill, 2009; Frith and Frith, 2008). To test the respective roles of specific abilities in either of these processes we administered 15 experimental procedures to a large sample of 343 participants, testing ability in face recognition and holistic perception, language, and reasoning. ToM was measured by a set of tasks requiring ability to track and to infer complex emotional and mental states of others from faces, eyes, spoken language and prosody. We used structural equation modeling to test the relative strengths of a social-perceptual (face processing related) and reflexive-cognitive (language and reasoning related) path in predicting ToM ability. The two paths accounted for 58% of ToM variance, thus validating a general two-systems framework. Testing specific predictor paths revealed language and face recognition as strong and significant predictors of ToM. For reasoning, there were neither direct nor mediated effects, albeit reasoning was strongly associated with language (r = 0.73). Holistic face perception also failed to show a direct link with ToM ability, while there was a mediated effect via face recognition. These results highlight the respective roles of face recognition and language for the social brain (Kennedy and Adolphs, 2012), and contribute closer empirical specification of the general two-systems account

Theory of mind development from adolescence to adulthood: Testing the two-component model

The ability to infer mental and affective states of others is crucial for social functioning. This ability, denoted as Theory of Mind (ToM), develops rapidly during childhood, yet results on its development across adolescence and into young adulthood are rare. In the present study, we tested the two-component model, measuring age-related changes in social-perceptual and social-cognitive ToM in a sample of 267 participants between 11 and 25 years of age. Additionally, we measured language, reasoning, and inhibitory control as major covariates. Participants inferred mental states from non-verbal cues in a social-perceptual task (Eye Test) and from stories with faux pas in a social-cognitive task (Faux Pas Test). Results showed substantial improvement across adolescence in both ToM measures and in the covariates. Analysis with linear mixed models (LMM) revealed specific age-related growth for the social-perceptual component, while the age-related increase of the social-cognitive component fully aligned with the increase of the covariates. These results support the distinction between ToM components and indicate that adolescence is a crucial period for developing social-perceptual ToM abilities. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? To date, much research has been dedicated to Theory of Mind (ToM) development in early and middle childhood. However, only a few studies have examined development of ToM in adolescence. Studies so far suggest age-related differences in ToM between adolescents and young adults. What this study adds The study offers several methodological advantages including a large sample size with a continuous distribution of age (age 11-25) and the use of a comprehensive test battery to assess ToM and covariates (language, executive functions, reasoning). The results provide evidence for asymmetries in the development of two ToM components (social-perceptual and social-cognitive; the two-component account) across the studied age range: the social perceptual component showed specific development, while the age-related increase of the social-cognitive component fully aligned with increase of the covariates. Adolescence is a crucial period for developing social-perceptual ToM abilities

AllTestDataData

File: AllTestDataDataCFMT-CCP-SPP_RSOS This file contains all measurement variables and control variables of the dataset COLUMNS: A: VP-Identification Code B: Included or not in analysis (according Tukey Outlier criterion) C: Cambridge FaceMemory Test (upright) D: Cambridge FaceMemory Test (inverted) E: CCP - congruent (upright) F: CCP - congruent (inverted) G: CCP - incongruent (upright) H: CCP - incongruent (inverted) I: SPP_F - LO (upright) J: SPP_F - LO (inverted) K: SPP_F - HO (upright) L: SPP_F - HO (inverted) M: SPP_O - LO (upright) N: SPP_O - LO (inverted) O: SPP_O - HO (upright) P: SPP_O - HO (inverted

Development of visual systems for faces and objects: further evidence for prolonged development of the face system.

BACKGROUND:The development of face and object processing has attracted much attention; however, studies that directly compare processing of both visual categories across age are rare. In the present study, we compared the developmental trajectories of face and object processing in younger children (8-10 years), older children (11-13 years), adolescents (14-16 years), and adults (20-37). METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:We used a congruency paradigm in which subjects compared the internal features of two stimuli, while the (unattended) external features either agreed or disagreed independent of the identity of the internal features. We found a continuous increase in matching accuracy for faces and watches across childhood and adolescence, with different magnitudes for both visual categories. In watch perception, adult levels were reached at the age of 14-16, but not in face perception. The effect of context and inversion, as measures of holistic and configural processing, were clearly restricted to faces in all age groups. This finding suggests that different mechanisms are involved in face and object perception at any age tested. Moreover, the modulation of context and inversion effects by exposure duration was strongly age-dependent, with the strongest age-related differences found for brief timings below 140 ms. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:The results of the present study suggest prolonged development of face-specific processing up to young adulthood. The improvement in face processing is qualitatively different from the improvement of general perceptual and cognitive ability

On response bias in the face congruency effect for internal and external features

Some years ago Cheung et al. (2008) proposed the complete design (CD) for measuring the failure of selective attention in composite objects. Since the CD is a fully balanced design, analysis of response bias may reveal potential effects of the experimental manipulation, the stimulus material, and/or attributes of the observers. Here we used the CD to prove whether external features modulate perception of internal features with the context congruency paradigm (Meinhardt-Injac et al., 2010; Nachson et al., 1995) in a larger sample of N = 303 subjects. We found a large congruency effect (Cohen’s d = 1.78), which was attenuated by face inversion (d = 1.32). The congruency relation also strongly modulated response bias. In incongruent trials the proportion of “different” responses was much larger than in congruent trials (d = 0.79), which was again attenuated by face inversion (d = 0.43). Because in incongruent trials the wholes formed by integrating external and internal features are always different, while in congruent trials same and different wholes occur with the same frequency, a congruency related bias effect is expected from holistic integration. Our results suggest two behavioral markers of holistic processing in the context congruency paradigm: a performance advantage in congruent compared to incongruent trials, and a tendency towards more “different” responses in incongruent, compared to congruent trials. Since the results for both markers differed only quantitatively in upright and inverted presentation, our findings indicate no change of the face processing mode by picture plane rotation. A potential transfer to the composite face paradigm is discussed

The composite effect is face-specific in young but not older adults

In studying holistic face processing across the life-span there are only few attempts to separate face-specific from general aging effects. Here we used the complete design of the composite paradigm (Cheung et al., 2008) with faces and novel non-face control objects (watches) to investigate composite effects in young (18–32 years) and older adults (63–78 years). We included cueing conditions to alert using a narrow or a wide attentional focus when comparing the composite objects, and used brief and relaxed exposure durations for stimulus presentation. Young adults showed large composite effects for faces, but none for watches. In contrast, older adults showed strong composite effects for faces and watches, albeit the effects were larger for faces. Moreover, composite effects for faces were larger for the wide attentional focus in both age groups, while the composite effects for watches of older adults were alike for both cueing conditions. Older adults showed low accuracy at the same levels for both types of stimuli when attended and non-attended halves were incongruent. Increasing presentation times improved performance strongly for congruent but not for incongruent composite objects. These findings suggest that the composite effects of older adults reflect substantial decline in the ability to control irrelevant stimuli, which takes effect both in non-face objects and in faces. In young adults, highly efficient attentional control mostly precludes interference of irrelevant features in novel objects, thus their composite effects reflect holistic integration specific for faces or objects of expertise

On Response Bias in the Face Congruency Effect for Internal and External Features

Some years ago Cheung et al. (2008) proposed the complete design (CD) for measuring the failure of selective attention in composite objects. Since the CD is a fully balanced design, analysis of response bias may reveal potential effects of the experimental manipulation, the stimulus material, and/or attributes of the observers. Here we used the CD to prove whether external features modulate perception of internal features with the context congruency paradigm (Nachson et al., 1995; Meinhardt-Injac et al., 2010) in a larger sample of N = 303 subjects. We found a large congruency effect (Cohen's d = 1.78), which was attenuated by face inversion (d = 1.32). The congruency relation also strongly modulated response bias. In incongruent trials the proportion of “different” responses was much larger than in congruent trials (d = 0.79), which was again attenuated by face inversion (d = 0.43). Because in incongruent trials the wholes formed by integrating external and internal features are always different, while in congruent trials same and different wholes occur with the same frequency, a congruency related bias effect is expected from holistic integration. Our results suggest two behavioral markers of holistic processing in the context congruency paradigm: a performance advantage in congruent compared to incongruent trials, and a tendency toward more “different” responses in incongruent, compared to congruent trials. Since the results for both markers differed only quantitatively in upright and inverted presentation, our findings indicate no change of the face processing mode by picture plane rotation. A potential transfer to the composite face paradigm is discussed

Face Perception across the Life-Span

Face perception is a highly evolved visual skills in humans. This complex ability develops across the life-span, steeply rising in infancy, refining across childhood and adolescence, reaching highest levels in adulthood and declining in old age. As such, the development of face perception comprises multiple skills, including sensory (e.g., mechanisms of holistic, configural and featural perception), cognitive (e.g., memory, processing speed, attentional control), and also emotional and social (e.g., reading and interpreting facial expression) domains. Whereas our understanding of specific functional domains involved in face perception is growing, there is further pressing demand for a multidisciplinary approach toward a more integrated view, describing how face perception ability relates to and develops with other domains of sensory and cognitive functioning. In this research topic we bring together a collection of papers that provide a shot of the current state of the art of theorizing and investigating face perception from the perspective of multiple ability domains. We would like to thank all authors for their valuable contributions that advanced our understanding of face and emotion perception across development