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ABSTRACT: Recent research suggests that individuals with relatively weak global precedence (i.e., a smaller propensity to view visual stimuli in a configural manner) show a reduced face inversion effect (FIE). Coupled with such findings, a number of recent studies have demonstrated links between an advantage for feature-based processing and the presentation of traits associated with autism among the general population. The present study sought to bridge these findings by investigating whether a relationship exists between the possession of autism-associated traits (i.e., as indicated by individuals'"autism quotient" [(AQ) and the size of the FIE. Participants completed an on-line study in which the AQ was measured prior to a standard face recognition task where half of the faces were inverted at test. The results confirmed that higher AQ levels were predictive of smaller FIEs. Implications for a common underlying factor relating to processing orientation are discussed.
Cognitive Science A Multidisciplinary Journal 03/2012; 36(2):373-84. · 2.59 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Recent research suggests that repetition priming (RP) for unfamiliar faces is highly view dependent and is eliminated when the viewpoint of target faces changes between study and test. The current research examined whether increased familiarity with novel faces from a single viewpoint at study would support RP from an alternative viewpoint at test. Participants passively viewed novel face images from a single viewpoint at study (i.e., either front or three-quarters), with half of the images seen once and half seen on five occasions. During a sex classification task at test, participants were faster to respond to face images seen from the same view as that at study than they were to previously unseen distractor faces for both single exposure faces and faces seen on five occasions (i.e., standard RP). When, however, face images at test were shown from a different viewpoint from that at study, RP only occurred for faces viewed on five occasions.
Quarterly journal of experimental psychology (2006) 02/2011; 64(2):217-23. · 1.96 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: It has frequently been demonstrated that repeated presentation of a stimulus can result in facilitated processing of the item, an effect termed repetition priming. Questions remain, however, regarding the boundary conditions of this effect, particularly for faces. For example, is repetition priming for unfamiliar faces dependent on the presentation of identical stimuli at study and test? This question was explored in three experiments in which the pose (i.e., frontal vs. (3/4)) and perceptual distance from the original facial identity (i.e., 100%, 75%, 50%, or 25% of original person) were manipulated between the testing phases of a standard repetition-priming paradigm. The results revealed that priming did not persist following any change to a face between study and test, thereby suggesting that repetition priming for unfamiliar faces is form specific. The theoretical implications of this finding are considered.
Experimental Psychology 11/2009; 57(5):338-45. · 2.22 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Recent research has documented how single facial features can trigger person categorization. Questions remain, however, regarding the automaticity of the reported effects. Using a modified flanker paradigm, the current investigation explored the extent to which hair cues drive sex categorization when faces comprise task-irrelevant (i.e., unattended) stimuli. In three experiments, participants were required to classify target forenames by gender while ignoring irrelevant flanking faces with and without hair cues. When present, hair cues were either congruent or incongruent with prevailing cultural stereotypes. The results demonstrated the potency of category-specifying featural cues. First, flanker interference only emerged when critical hair cues were present (Experiment 1). Second, flankers with stereotype-incongruent hairstyles (e.g., men with long hair) facilitated access to information associated with the opposite sex (Experiment 2), even when the flankers were highly familiar celebrities (Experiment 3). The theoretical implications of these findings are considered. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
European Journal of Social Psychology 02/2009; 39(6):1109 - 1119. · 1.47 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Repetition priming (RP) is the ability to recognize a stimulus more rapidly as a result of prior exposure to the item. Recent research examining the neuroanatomical basis of this effect has demonstrated RP for familiar faces presented to the right but not to the left cerebral hemisphere. Extending this line of enquiry, the current research considered whether similar effects emerge when unfamiliar faces are the stimuli of interest. Using a divided-visual-field methodology, RP for unfamiliar faces in the left and the right hemispheres was assessed. The results revealed that RP: (i) only emerges in the right hemisphere; (ii) is evident regardless of whether the lateralized presentation of unfamiliar faces occurs at study or at test and (iii) occurs only when hair is cropped from the faces. The theoretical implications of these findings are considered.
Experimental Psychology 02/2009; 56(3):147-55. · 2.22 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: A strong preference for using the right foot for skilled activities parallels a similar side bias for hand use. However, many neuropsychologists, sports scientists and sports commentators argue that right-foot bias in soccer is reduced or even eliminated by practice. This sort of plasticity is an important component of the principle genetic theories of handedness, yet very little is known about the relative asymmetries in the many unipedal skills required in soccer at amateur or professional levels. The first study examined self-report of hand and foot bias in a sample (n=400) of amateur soccer players, in addition to information about their practice with the non-preferred foot. A second study quantified foot use on the pitch in a large sample (n=426) of professional soccer players. The majority of the amateurs reported a right-foot bias that is very similar to that seen in the general population ( approximately 80%). However they only endorse strong biases for "closed" (self-paced) soccer actions like penalty and other free kicks, which give players unlimited time and space for preparation and execution. Although there was a very slight tendency for less right-foot bias in the professionals ( approximately 75%), as assessed by actual foot use rather than questionnaire, few players show anything like what could be described as two-footed play. This bias, unlike in the reports of amateurs, were for all of the behaviours investigated, not just so-called "skilled" behaviours. Finally, when outcomes of preferred and non-preferred foot behaviours were contrasted, the professionals were remarkably adept on those rare occasions when they use their non-preferred foot, suggesting that skill cannot explain asymmetry of choice. These results are discussed in terms of 1) limitations of self-report on questionnaires for predicting actual on the field behaviour, 2) the surprising absence of plasticity in foot use, given the importance of learning, experience and culture in models of handedness and footedness, and 3) a left hemisphere lateralised intentional system as important for the selection of movements as for their execution.
Cortex 12/2008; 45(5):650-61. · 6.08 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Everyday social interaction is often dominated by categorical thinking, with generic group-based knowledge structures guiding people's dealings with others. Noting the important influence that category-cueing facial features exert during the initial stages of person construal, the current work explored the effects of hair cues on the process and temporal dynamics of sex categorization. Using a standard priming paradigm to index the products of person construal (i.e., categorical and stereotype- based knowledge), the results of three experiments revealed that: (i) hair cues alone are sufficient to trigger category and stereotype activation; and (ii) during the early stages of person perception, these cues have the capacity to reverse conventional priming effects and generate errors of categorical assignment (e.g., female faces prime male knowledge). These findings are considered in the context of contemporary accounts of person construal. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
European Journal of Social Psychology 08/2007; 37(5):793 - 805. · 1.47 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Recent research has explored the dynamics of categorical thinking, with debate centering on the putative automaticity of this process. In a further investigation of this topic, the current inquiry assessed the influence of critical category-cueing facial features on overt (i.e., category identification) and covert (i.e., category priming) measures of sex categorization. The results revealed that when a critical sex-specifying facial cue (i.e., hairstyle) was present, priming effects emerged even under suboptimal processing conditions (i.e., facial blurring). When this cue was absent, however, priming no longer occurred. Interestingly, category identification was largely unimpeded by feature removal or facial blurring. Taken together, these results underscore the efficiency of categorical thinking and the importance of task objectives and feature-based processing in person perception.
