Face Perception During Early Infancy Conferences uri icon

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abstract

  • Previous studies of face perception during early infancy are difficult to interpret because of discrepant results and procedural differences. We used a standardized method based on the Teller acuity card procedure to test newborns, 6-week-olds, and 12-week-olds with three pairs of face and nonface stimuli modified from previous studies. Newborns' preferences were influenced both by the visibility of the stimuli and by their resemblance to a human face. There appears to be a mechanism, likely subcortical, predisposing newborns to look toward faces. Changes in preferences at 6 and 12 weeks of age suggest increasing cortical influence over infants' preferences for faces.

authors

  • Mondloch, Catherine J
  • Lewis, Terri
  • Budreau, D Robert
  • Maurer, Daphne
  • Dannemiller, James L
  • Stephens, Benjamin R
  • Kleiner-Gathercoal, Kathleen A

publication date

  • September 1999