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Child Psychology Commons

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Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Child Psychology

Individual Differences In Infants' Temperament Affect Face Processing, Jennifer L. Rennels, Andrea J. Kayl, Kirsty M. Kulhanek Jul 2020

Individual Differences In Infants' Temperament Affect Face Processing, Jennifer L. Rennels, Andrea J. Kayl, Kirsty M. Kulhanek

Psychology Faculty Research

Infants show an advantage in processing female and familiar race faces, but the effect sizes are often small, suggesting individual differences in their discrimination abilities. This research assessed whether differences in 6–10-month-olds’ temperament (surgency and orienting) predicted how they scanned individual faces varying in race and gender during familiarization and whether and how long it took them to locate the face during a visual search task. This study also examined whether infants viewing faces posing pleasant relative to neutral expressions would facilitate their discrimination of male and unfamiliar race faces. Results showed that infants’ surgency on its own or in …


The Effect Of Experience On Infants’ Visual Preferences, Jennifer Bolick, Jennifer L. Rennels Jan 2013

The Effect Of Experience On Infants’ Visual Preferences, Jennifer Bolick, Jennifer L. Rennels

McNair Poster Presentations

Research has shown that 3 to 4-month-olds with female primary caregivers show visual preferences for female relative to male faces (Quinn, Yahr, Kuhn, Slater, & Pascalis, 2002). Facial experience is likely an important influence on these preferences. From birth, infants’ experiences guide face processing skills. This processing ability influences the development of efficient face recognition later in life. The following study investigated (1) How visual pref­erences are influenced by real world experience with males and females, and (2) How experi­ence affects older infants’ visual preferences (i.e., 10-month-olds).


Do Toddlers Exhibit Same-Sex Preferences For Adult Facial Stimuli?, Andrea Jane Kayl Aug 2012

Do Toddlers Exhibit Same-Sex Preferences For Adult Facial Stimuli?, Andrea Jane Kayl

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

During the first year, infants exhibit visual preferences for female relative to male faces (Quinn, Yahr, Kuhn, Slater, & Pascalis, 2002). These visual preferences may reflect an adaptive behavior resulting from infants' greater experience with females during social interactions, particularly caregiving (McArthur & Baron, 1983; Rennels & Davis, 2008). As children learn they belong to a particular sex during toddlerhood, they become more active seekers of social knowledge and may begin to seek out members of that sex as models for determining appropriate activities and behaviors (Baldwin & Moses, 1996; Martin, Ruble, & Szkrybalo, 2002). The purpose of this investigation …