Changing face-space: Perceptual narrowing in the development of face recognition

The face-space metaphor for the encoding and storage of faces in memory has received a great deal of theoretical and empirical support. This metaphor is applied to the development of face recognition here. Three versions of the immature face-space are presented: the constant-face-space presumes that the number of dimensions of the immature face-space is the same as the adult face-space and all that changes is the distribution of faces within face-space the expanding-face-space presumes that as more faces are encountered, new dimensions are added to the face-space to discriminate between highly similar faces the shrinking-face-space suggests that the immature face- space contains many more dimensions than the adult face-space and, through processes akin to perceptual narrowing, most become dormant, leaving a default set of dimensions. These dormant dimensions are still contained within the face-space and can be activated under certain circumstances leading to a more flexible and dynamic face-space in adulthood. Thirty-two experiments were conducted that aimed to discriminate between these three models of the immature face-space. The experiments presented in Chapter 2 explored the recognition and discrimination of: upright faces compared with inverted faces own- and other- race, gender, and age faces and faces with an ''unnatural' facial configuration in adults and children aged 5- to 15-years-old. Chapter 3 used recognition tests and manipulated participants, attentional focus to explore what happens to unattended dimensions of face-space. Chapter 4 used adaptation procedures to recalibrate the dimensions of face-space over short and longer timeframes. In Chapter 5, the lower-level perceptual nature of dimensions of face-space is explored indirectly. In Chapter 6, the data reported are incorporated into a developmental model of shrinking-face-space, leading to an adult flexible-face-space