title: Holistic face processing in newborns, 3-month-old infants, and adults: evidence from the composite face effect.
abstract: Holistic face processing was investigated in newborns, 3-month-old infants, and adults through a modified version of the composite face paradigm and the recording of eye movements. After familiarization to the top portion of a face, participants (N = 70) were shown 2 aligned or misaligned faces, 1 of which comprised the familiar top part. In the aligned condition, no visual preference was found at any group age. In the misaligned condition, 3-month-olds preferred the face stimulus with the familiar top part, adults preferred the face stimulus with the novel one, and newborns did not manifest any visual preference. Results revealed that both infants' and adults' eye movements may be affected by holistic face information and demonstrated holistic face processing in 3-month-olds.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy. chiara.turati@unimib.it
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Turati
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Di Giorgio
authors.forename: Lara
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bardi
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Simion
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D001288:Attention; D002657:Child Development; D005133:Eye Movements; D005145:Face; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D011597:Psychomotor Performance