Holistic face processing is influenced by non‐conscious visual information

Bibliographic Data

ID9619979
AuthorsHaiyang Jin (0000-0003-3290-3901, School of Psychology University of Auckland New Zealand), Matt Oxner (0000-0002-4419-6020, Institute of Psychology University of Leipzig Germany), Paul M Corballis (School of Psychology University of Auckland New Zealand), Paul Corballis (0000-0001-9699-3999, University of Auckland), William G Hayward (0000-0002-7248-0301, Department of Psychology University of Hong Kong Hong Kong, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume113
Issue1
Pages300-326
Publication date2022-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueBritish Journal of Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0007-1269 • E-ISSN: 2044-8295
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/bjop.12521
PMID34240413
OpenAlexW3175132954
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited71

Holistic face processing has been widely implicated in conscious face perception. Yet, little is known about whether holistic face processing occurs when faces are processed unconsciously. The present study used the composite face task and continuous flash suppression (CFS) to inspect whether the processing of target facial information (the top half of a face) is influenced by irrelevant information (the bottom half) that is presented unconsciously. Results of multiple experiments showed that the composite effect was observed in both monocular and CFS conditions, providing the first evidence that the processing of top facial halves is influenced by the aligned bottom halves no matter whether they are presented consciously or unconsciously. However, much of the composite effect for faces without masking was disrupted when bottom facial parts were rendered with CFS. These results suggest that holistic face processing can occur unconsciously, but also highlight the significance of holistic processing of consciously presented faces

Backward masking · Cognitive psychology · Cognitive science · Face (sociological concept) · Face perception · Information processing · Perception · Task (project management) · Visual processing · Communication · Face Recognition and Perception · Neuroscience · Psychology · Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment · Visual Attention and Saliency Detection

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