Early maturity of face processing in children: Local and relational distinctiveness effects in 7-year-olds

It is still often claimed that face recognition in children matures relatively late (e.g.,10 years), supporting an "expertise" rather than an "innate" interpretation. However, a review indicates that many adult properties of face processing (inversion effects, first-order relational processing, second-order relational processing, race effects, distinctiveness effects on perception) are present at 6-7 years. A new experiment investigates distinctiveness effects on memory. We manipulated distinctiveness via both local alterations to an original face (thicker lips, bushier eyebrows), and second-order relational alterations (eyes closer together, mouth moved down; Leder & Bruce, 1998). We also varied orientation (upright, inverted). Seven-year-olds' memory showed adult patterns of sensitivity to all these manipulations. We conclude that face recognition matures relatively early, and that the focus of future studies must shift to much younger age groups.