The other-race effect develops during infancy: evidence of perceptual narrowing.
Experience plays a crucial role in the development of face processing. In the study reported here, we investigated how faces observed within the visual environment affect the development of the face-processing system during the 1st year of life. We assessed 3-, 6-, and 9-month-old Caucasian infants' ability to discriminate faces within their own racial group and within three other-race groups (African, Middle Eastern, and Chinese). The 3-month-old infants demonstrated recognition in all conditions, the 6-month-old infants were able to recognize Caucasian and Chinese faces only, and the 9-month-old infants' recognition was restricted to own-race faces. The pattern of preferences indicates that the other-race effect is emerging by 6 months of age and is present at 9 months of age. The findings suggest that facial input from the infant's visual environment is crucial for shaping the face-processing system early in infancy, resulting in differential recognition accuracy for faces of different races in adulthood.
Kelly
David J
DJ
University of Sheffield, Psychology Department, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom. david.kelly@sheffield.ac.uk
Quinn
Paul C
PC
Slater
Alan M
AM
Lee
Kang
K
Ge
Liezhong
L
Pascalis
Olivier
O
D004192:Discrimination, Psychological; D005260:Female; D006185:Habituation, Psychophysiologic; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010466:Perceptual Closure; D044469:Racial Groups; D012938:Social Perception; D014796:Visual Perception