Abstract
Human face processing relies heavily on configural processing—the ability to perceive the spatial relationships between facial features—rather than on processing individual features in isolation. In this study, we explored configural processing of faces in paintings, comparing artworks along a realism/distortion continuum, including Renaissance, Postimpressionism, Expressionism, and Cubism. To test competing hypotheses regarding a possible modulation by art style in relational processing, we asked how inversion hinders configural processing of faces in paintings. We found gradation in relational processing, with an inversion effect for Renaissance and Postimpressionism face paintings but no inversion effect for Expressionism and Cubism face paintings. Distortion in the positioning of facial features introduced in Expressionism and Cubism is most probably related to the lesser importance of relational processing in these art styles, whereas the higher realism of faces in Renaissance and Postimpressionist paintings fosters the recruitment of mechanisms involved in the processing of real faces.
Add the publication’s full text or supplementary notes here. You can use rich formatting such as including code, math, and images.
Francisco Cruz
Doctoral Student
Francisco Cruz is a doctoral student in social psychology at the Faculty of Psychology, University of Lisbon, under the supervision of Prof. André Mata (University of Lisbon) and Prof. Tania Lombrozo (Princeton University). Currently, he is visiting Princeton University in research collaborator capacity. His project explores why people are sceptical of psychology as a science, as well as how to increase trust in psychological science. His research interests include lay beliefs about science (i.e., what people believe that science can or cannot explain and why), motivated beliefs in science (i.e., the contexts in which people are more prone to accepting scientific explanations), representation of social groups (i.e., how people integrate information to provide judgments on shared homogeneity vs. heterogeneity across group members), epistemic trespassing (i.e., when people provide judgments on domains beyond those in which they are experts), intuitive mind-body dualism (i.e., a natural tendency to see the world as split in material and immaterial portions), and face perception (i.e., features driving the advantage in recall for own- vs. other-race faces). He is a Student Affiliate at the Center for the Science of Moral Understanding, an Author at CogBites, and an Opinion Editor at Cruamente.