Mind Perception: Real but Not Artificial Faces Sustain Neural Activity beyond the N170/VPP

Wheatley, Thalia; Weinberg, Anna; Looser, Christine E.; Moran, Tim P.; Hajcak, Greg

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0017960

Cited by 88 publications

(94 citation statements)

References 41 publications

(61 reference statements)

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“…This pattern diverges from work suggesting that outgroup members are broadly dehumanized (Boccato, Capozza, Ralvo, & Durante, 2008). Faces with humanlike configurations may broadly activate social cognition early in the processing stream (Wheatley et al, 2011), which may account for the lack of differential dehumanization for the upright Black and White faces given the speeded nature of the task.…”

Section: Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Configural face processing impacts race disparities in humanization and trust

Cassidy

Krendl

Stanko

et al. 2017

Journal of Experimental Social Psychology

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The dehumanization of Black Americans is an ongoing societal problem. Reducing configural face processing, a well-studied aspect of typical face encoding, decreases the activation of human-related concepts to White faces, suggesting that the extent that faces are configurally processed contributes to dehumanization. Because Black individuals are more dehumanized relative to White individuals, the current work examined how configural processing might contribute to their greater dehumanization. Study 1 showed that inverting faces (which reduces configural processing) reduced the activation of human-related concepts toward Black more than White faces. Studies 2a and 2b showed that reducing configural processing affects dehumanization by decreasing trust and increasing homogeneity among Black versus White faces. Studies 3a–d showed that configural processing effects emerge in racial outgroups for whom untrustworthiness may be a more salient group stereotype (i.e., Black, but not Asian, faces). Study 4 provided evidence that these effects are specific to reduced configural processing versus more general perceptual disfluency. Reduced configural processing may thus contribute to the greater dehumanization of Black relative to White individuals.

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Section: Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Configural face processing impacts race disparities in humanization and trust

Cassidy

Krendl

Stanko

et al. 2017

Journal of Experimental Social Psychology

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“…Indeed, humans are preferentially tuned to detect other faces (Ro, Russell & Lavie, 2001; Langton et al, 2008), and discriminate carefully between faces that are alive and those that are not (Looser & Wheatley, 2010; Looser, Guntupalli, & Wheatley, 2013; Wheatley et al, 2011). However, when the connection with other humans is deemed impossible, the drive to fulfill this motivation may manifest itself in the attribution of mental states to nonhuman entities, such as gadgets and pets (Epley et al, 2008).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Connection Modulates Perceptions of Animacy

et al. 2014

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Human survival depends on identifying targets potentially capable of engaging in meaningful social connection. Using sets of morphed images created from animate (human) and inanimate (doll) faces, we provide converging evidence from across two studies showing that the motivation to connect with other people systematically alters the interpretation of the physical features that signal that a face is alive. Specifically, in their efforts to find and connect with other social agents, individuals who feel socially disconnected actually lower their thresholds for what it means to be alive, consistently observing animacy when fewer definitively human cues are present. From an evolutionary perspective, overattributing animacy may be an adaptive strategy, allowing people to cast a wide net when identifying possible sources of social connection and maximize their opportunities to renew social relationships.

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“…Lately, a lot of research has been devoted to how synthetic faces are perceived, but the results have been rather mixed. Some studies, for example those relying on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and event-related brain potentials (ERP), found that artificial faces seem to be processed differently than real faces [15,16]. A similar conclusion was reached in a few studies exploring the recognition of emotions [17,18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 68%

When Humans Become Objects: Out-Group Effects in Real and Artificial Faces

Swiderska

Krumhuber

Kappas

2013

2013 Humaine Association Conference on Affective Computing and Intelligent Interaction

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Abstract-Out-group members are commonly viewed as being less human than in-group members. They are denied certain human characteristics and in turn become associated with machines or automata. Specifically, out-groups are attributed less naturally and uniquely human traits, and they are also seen as being less able to experience complex emotions in comparison to the in-group. Such dissociations have been demonstrated with real human faces but in our study, we aimed to test whether similar effects generalize to their artificial versions. Caucasian participants were presented with images of male Caucasian and Indian faces. Their task was to evaluate to what extent naturally and uniquely human traits, as well as primary and secondary emotions, can be attributed to them. In line with previous research, it was found that positive naturally human traits were attributed to a greater degree to the in-group than to the outgroup, applying to both real and artificial faces. Moreover, negative naturally human traits and negative primary emotions were attributed more to the out-group. This indicates a positive bias towards the in-group and subtle out-group derogation. The results extend prior research based on real human faces and show that intergroup processes emerge similarly in response to artificial faces, which may have implications for the fields of computer graphics and animation. That is, even the most realistic face recognized as belonging to an out-group member may convey less humanness than that of an in-group member.

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Mind Perception: Real but Not Artificial Faces Sustain Neural Activity beyond the N170/VPP

Cited by 88 publications

References 41 publications

Configural face processing impacts race disparities in humanization and trust

Configural face processing impacts race disparities in humanization and trust

Social Connection Modulates Perceptions of Animacy

When Humans Become Objects: Out-Group Effects in Real and Artificial Faces

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