Event-related potentials reveal the development of stable face representations from natural variability

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Andrews, S. ORCID: 0000-0002-9916-9433, Burton, A.M., Schweinberger, S.R. and Wiese, H., 2016. Event-related potentials reveal the development of stable face representations from natural variability. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 70 (8), pp. 1620-1632. ISSN 1747-0218

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Official URL: http://doi.org/10.1080/17470218.2016.1195851

Abstract

Natural variability between instances of unfamiliar faces can make it difficult to reconcile two images as the same person. Yet for familiar faces, effortless recognition occurs even with considerable variability between images. To explore how stable face representations develop, we employed incidental learning in the form of a face sorting task. In each trial, multiple images of two facial identities were sorted into two corresponding piles. Following the sort, participants showed evidence of having learnt the faces, performing more accurately on a matching task with seen than unseen identities. Furthermore, ventral temporal event-related potentials were more negative in the N250 time range for previously-seen than previously-unseen identities. These effects appear to demonstrate some degree of abstraction, rather than simple picture learning, as the neurophysiological and behavioural effects were observed with novel images of the previously-seen identities. The results provide evidence of the development of facial representations, allowing a window onto natural mechanisms of face learning.

Item Type:

Journal article

Publication Title:

The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology

Creators:

Andrews, S., Burton, A.M., Schweinberger, S.R. and Wiese, H.

Publisher:

Routledge

Date:

2 June 2016

Volume:

Number: