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

Andrews, Sally; Burton, Mike A.; Schweinberger, Stefan R.; Wiese, Holger

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Authors

Sally Andrews

Mike A. Burton

Stefan R. Schweinberger



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 with unseen identities. Furthermore, ventral temporal event-related potentials were more negative in the N250 time range for previously seen than for 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.

Citation

Andrews, S., Burton, M. A., Schweinberger, S. R., & Wiese, H. (2017). Event-related potentials reveal the development of stable face representations from natural variability. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 70(8), 1620-1632. https://doi.org/10.1080/17470218.2016.1195851

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date May 20, 2016
Online Publication Date Jun 28, 2016
Publication Date Aug 3, 2017
Deposit Date Nov 29, 2016
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology
Print ISSN 1747-0218
Electronic ISSN 1747-0226
Publisher SAGE Publications
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 70
Issue 8
Pages 1620-1632
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/17470218.2016.1195851

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