Attentional biases for faces and body parts

In four experiments, we examined whether faces and body parts are processed faster and engage attention more than other objects. Participants searched for a green among blue frames and were asked to make speeded categorical decisions on an object presented within the target frame (e.g., was it food?...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Visual cognition 2007-04, Vol.15 (3), p.322-348
Main Authors: Ro, Tony, Friggel, Ashley, Lavie, Nilli
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activity levels. Psychomotricity
Biological and medical sciences
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Perception
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Vigilance. Attention. Sleep
Vision
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Summary:In four experiments, we examined whether faces and body parts are processed faster and engage attention more than other objects. Participants searched for a green among blue frames and were asked to make speeded categorical decisions on an object presented within the target frame (e.g., was it food?). On half of the trials a colour singleton (a red frame) was also present and reaction times to targets were measured as a function of the object category within the singleton. The results show that categorical judgements of faces (Experiments 1-3) and body parts (Experiment 4) in the target frame were significantly faster as compared to other object categories. Furthermore, the cost associated with presenting a face or body part in the singleton frame was greater than the cost when another type of object was in the singleton. These results suggest an attentional bias towards stimuli of sociobiological significance such as faces and body parts.
ISSN:1350-6285
1464-0716
DOI:10.1080/13506280600590434