title: The face inversion effect is not a consequence of aberrant eye movements.
abstract: The face inversion effect is the finding that inverted faces are more difficult to recognize than other inverted objects. The present study explored the possibility that eye movements have a role in producing the face inversion effect. In Experiment 1, we demonstrated that the faces used here produce a robust face inversion effect when compared with another homogenous set of objects (antique radios). In Experiment 2, participants' eye movements were monitored while they learned a set of faces and during a recognition test. Although we clearly found a face inversion effect, the same features of a face were fixated during the learning and recognition test faces, whether the face was right side up or upside down. Thus, the face inversion effect is not a result of a different pattern of eye movements during the viewing of the face.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, Mississippi 39762, USA. cwilliams@psychology.msstate.edu
authors.forename: Carrick C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Henderson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D004193:Discrimination Learning; D005133:Eye Movements; D005145:Face; D006801:Humans; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D009949:Orientation; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D011930:Reaction Time