Cognitive Development of Face Processing

These flashcards cover essential vocabulary and concepts regarding cognitive development related to face processing as discussed in the lecture.

Visual Development

The study of how infants perceive the world and the changes in their vision.

Face Recognition

The ability to identify and categorize human faces.

Social Groups

A collection of individuals that live together in communal settings, where interaction is frequent.

Person Identity Nodes (PINs)

Units that facilitate the recognition of individuals through the development of Face Recognition Units.

Prosopagnosia

A condition characterized by the inability to recognize faces.

Face Fusiform Area

A brain region that is more activated by faces than by other visual stimuli.

Face Schema

Cognitive framework that helps in the processing and recognition of faces.

Cortical System (CONLERN)

The part of the face processing system that is developed for recognizing faces and requires more cognitive processing.

Subcortical System (CONSPEC)

The initial system responsible for face detection and directing visual attention toward faces.

Perceptual Narrowing

The process by which infants become more efficient at recognizing faces through experience.

Visual Preference

The tendency to favor visually certain types of stimuli, such as familiar faces.

Ethnicity

The classification of individuals based on shared cultural, social, or biological traits, often reflected in facial features.

Face Detection

The process of identifying the presence of a face in visual stimuli.

Other-Race Effect

The tendency to recognize faces of one's own race better than those of other races.

Visual Paired-Comparison Task

An experimental method used to assess infants' preferences and recognition ability by observing their looking time at different stimuli.

Face Detection Task

An experimental setup used to evaluate an individual's ability to identify faces from other objects.

Infant Face Recognition

The ability of infants to recognize and prefer their mother's face shortly after birth.

Face Processing in Infancy

The ability of infants to discriminate and recognize faces early in life.

Cataract

A condition where the lens of the eye becomes cloudy, affecting vision.

Visual Deprivation

The lack of normal visual stimuli during critical periods of development, which can affect visual processing abilities later in life.

Average Representations

Mental constructs that help identify familiar faces by activating stable visual patterns.

Social Information

Data derived from visual stimuli, such as faces, that inform us about social dynamics and individual identities.

Face Recognition Units (FRUs)

The components within the PINs that recognize the unique features of faces.

Group Status Assessment

The process of evaluating social hierarchies based on facial recognition.

Eye Contact

A social and communicative gesture involving looking directly into someone's eyes, crucial for social interaction.

Face-like Stimuli

Visual patterns that resemble human faces and evoke recognition preferences in infants.

Dual-Process Theory

The theory suggesting that face processing involves both subcortical and cortical systems.

Configurational Processing

The ability to recognize faces based on the spatial arrangement of facial features.

Neonates

Newborn infants, generally within the first month after birth.

Social Categorization

The process of classifying individuals into groups based on shared characteristics, often driven by facial recognition.

Infant Exposure to Faces

The frequency and type of faces that infants encounter in their environment, which shapes their recognition skills.

Plasticity of Infant Face Processing

The ability of infants to adapt and refine their facial recognition skills based on their experiences.