Exploring the Structure of Multidimensional Face-space: The Effects of Age and Gender

Abstract

Four experiments investigate the status of multidimensional face-space models (Valentine, 1991a, 1991b) using Japanese faces and Japanese subjects. Experiments 1a and 1b show how commonsense assumptions about similarities between faces based on age and gender can be accounted for by this class of model. A non-intuitive prediction from the model, namely, that facedness decisions (i.e. deciding a stimulus is a face) should be slowest for adult male faces, is demonstrated in Experiment 2. Experiment 3 replicates this effect using Caucasian faces and Causasian subjects. These results, together with the unexpected discovery that face classification times are also relatively slower for male child faces, are used to explore possible structures of multidimensional face-space.