Seeing two faces together: preference formation in humans and rhesus macaques

Méary, David; Li, Zhihan; Li, Wu; Guo, Kun; Pascalis, Olivier

doi:10.1007/s10071-014-0742-3

Cited by 19 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Interestingly, monkeys spent an even longer time looking at objects with illusory faces than at monkey faces (Mean difference =.16; t 4 =5.52, P =.005, η 2 =.88; see Figure. 2A), which may reflect either a response to the unusual and unexpected nature of the illusory faces[20], or an aversion to maintaining prolonged fixation on the faces of conspecifics[21], an effect frequently observed in rhesus monkeys but not well understood[22]. An analysis of the first fixation data yielded the same pattern of results; the monkeys reliably directed their initial gaze towards objects containing an illusory face, compared to either matched objects or monkey faces (see Figure.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Face Pareidolia in the Rhesus Monkey

et al. 2017

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SUMMARY Face perception in humans and non-human primates is rapid and accurate[1–4]. In the human brain, a network of visual processing regions is specialized for faces[5–7]. Although face processing is a priority of the primate visual system, face detection is not infallible. Face pareidolia is the compelling illusion of perceiving facial features on inanimate objects, such as the illusory face on the surface of the moon. Although face pareidolia is commonly experienced by humans, its presence in other species is unknown. Here we provide evidence for face pareidolia in a species known to possess a complex face processing system[8–10]: the rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta). In a visual preference task[11, 12], monkeys looked longer at photographs of objects that elicited face pareidolia in human observers than at photographs of similar objects that did not elicit illusory faces. Examination of eye movements revealed that monkeys fixated the illusory internal facial features in a pattern consistent with how they view photographs of faces[13]. Although the specialized response to faces observed in humans[1, 3, 5–7, 14] is often argued to be continuous across primates[4, 15], it was previously unclear whether face pareidolia arose from a uniquely human capacity. For example, pareidolia could be a product of the human aptitude for perceptual abstraction, or result from frequent exposure to cartoons and illustrations that anthropomorphize inanimate objects. Instead, our results indicate that the perception of illusory facial features on inanimate objects is driven by a broadly-tuned face detection mechanism that we share with other species.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Face Pareidolia in the Rhesus Monkey

et al. 2017

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“…; Méary et al. ). Due to methodological and technological constraints, eye tracking can be difficult to implement in non‐humans and, to our knowledge, has thus far only been used in controlled captive conditions.…”

Section: The History and Implementation Of Looking Time Paradigmsmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…; Méary et al. ), recognize individuals (Rosenfeld & Van Hoesen ; Dasser , ; Kyes & Candland ; Bovet & Deputte ; Hanazuka et al. ), link visual attention to actions (Santos & Hauser ), recognize familiar goal‐directed behavior (Rochat et al.…”

Section: The History and Implementation Of Looking Time Paradigmsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perspectives: The Looking Time Experimental Paradigm in Studies of Animal Visual Perception and Cognition

2015

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Experiments are the foundation of empirical science, and experimental paradigms that are broadly applicable across settings and species are particularly useful for comparative research. Originally developed to address questions related to perception and cognition of pre-verbal human infants, the looking time experimental paradigm has been increasingly used to study animal behavior and cognition, particularly in non-human primates. Looking time experiments are based on the assumption that animals direct eye gaze toward objects or scenes based on their degree of interest, and use looking behavior to infer perceptual or cognitive characteristics of subjects. This paradigm can be used in a variety of contexts and is not based on species-typical behaviors, allowing for intra-and interspecific comparisons. Here, we describe the history of use of looking time measures, provide an overview of the problems and controversies related to this method, and offer recommendations on how to implement looking time tasks, focusing on the preparation of stimuli, experimental procedures, and data analysis. Our overview focuses on non-human primates, where most work has been carried out, but the issues discussed should be applicable to a wide range of species. We conclude that despite pertinent criticism, looking time tasks are practical when executed and interpreted properly. The further implementation of these methods in studies of animal behavior and cognition is likely to be fruitful.

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“…Fujita (1987) showed that macaque monkeys visually discriminated and preferred to look at stationary images of their conspecifics. Méary et al (2014) examined preference for faces between humans and rhesus monkeys and reported that rhesus monkeys preferred to see same species’ faces. Further, Swartz and Rosenblum (1980) used socially reared juvenile bonnet monkeys and showed the discrimination of their conspecifics among other macaque species and the preference to look at their conspecifics.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It has been shown that the novelty affects preference for face stimuli in macaque monkeys (Gothard et al, 2004, 2009; Méary et al, 2014). Butler and Woolpy (1963) used a variety of visual stimuli and showed that rhesus monkeys preferred to view color motion pictures than stationary photographs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physical Features of Visual Images Affect Macaque Monkey’s Preference for These Images

Funahashi

2016

Front. Behav. Neurosci.

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Animals exhibit different degrees of preference toward various visual stimuli. In addition, it has been shown that strongly preferred stimuli can often act as a reward. The aim of the present study was to determine what features determine the strength of the preference for visual stimuli in order to examine neural mechanisms of preference judgment. We used 50 color photographs obtained from the Flickr Material Database (FMD) as original stimuli. Four macaque monkeys performed a simple choice task, in which two stimuli selected randomly from among the 50 stimuli were simultaneously presented on a monitor and monkeys were required to choose either stimulus by eye movements. We considered that the monkeys preferred the chosen stimulus if it continued to look at the stimulus for an additional 6 s and calculated a choice ratio for each stimulus. Each monkey exhibited a different choice ratio for each of the original 50 stimuli. They tended to select clear, colorful and in-focus stimuli. Complexity and clarity were stronger determinants of preference than colorfulness. Images that included greater amounts of spatial frequency components were selected more frequently. These results indicate that particular physical features of the stimulus can affect the strength of a monkey’s preference and that the complexity, clarity and colorfulness of the stimulus are important determinants of this preference. Neurophysiological studies would be needed to examine whether these features of visual stimuli produce more activation in neurons that participate in this preference judgment.

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Seeing two faces together: preference formation in humans and rhesus macaques

Cited by 19 publications

References 33 publications

Face Pareidolia in the Rhesus Monkey

Face Pareidolia in the Rhesus Monkey

Perspectives: The Looking Time Experimental Paradigm in Studies of Animal Visual Perception and Cognition

Physical Features of Visual Images Affect Macaque Monkey’s Preference for These Images

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