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facial perception

This shows different facial expressions.

·October 17, 2025·8 min read

Older Adults See Ambiguous Faces as Happier

A new study reveals that older adults are more likely than younger people to interpret ambiguous facial expressions as happy rather than angry. Using brain imaging, researchers found that this positivity bias is linked to increased activity in the locus coeruleus — the brain’s tiny “blue spot” that regulates alertness and stress — and its connection to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.

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·March 22, 2024·4 min read

Devil in the Details: The Visual World of Prosopometamorphopsia

Researchers conducted a pioneering study on prosopometamorphopsia (PMO), a rare condition where individuals perceive facial features as distorted. The study details the unique case of a 58-year-old male who experiences facial distortions exclusively in person, not when viewing images on screens or paper, allowing researchers to create accurate visualizations of his perceptions.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·March 6, 2024·5 min read

Refined Carb Intake’s Effect on Facial Attractiveness

A new study reveals a statistical connection between the consumption of refined carbohydrates and decreased facial attractiveness, as judged by heterosexual volunteers of the opposite sex. Participants who consumed a high-glycemic breakfast, rich in refined carbohydrates, were rated as less attractive than those who had a low-glycemic meal.

This drawing shows a baby looking at a face and a baby looking at a picture of a house

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·May 1, 2022·3 min read

Infants Preferentially Perceive Faces in the Upper Visual Field

The upper visual field bias for faces emerges at around 7 months of age. Babies over 7 months developed a preference for memorizing the upper portions of a face.

This shows three people viewing other people's faces in an art gallery

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·April 8, 2022·3 min read

Why the Faces of Women and Men Are Perceived Differently by Liberals and Conservatives

A person with a wider face was considered to be more dominant and possess stronger leadership skills than a person with a narrower face. This was especially true of males, who were also considered to be more electable when they had a wider face. Conservatives showed more bias toward women's faces and were less likely to vote for a woman because, despite having wider faces, they perceived the candidate as less dominant. Liberals were more likely to vote for a woman but, as with conservatives, they perceived a woman with a wider face to be less dominant than a male.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·September 2, 2021·4 min read

Smiling Can Build Relationships Even After Someone Has Been Untrustworthy

When you've acted in an uncooperative or untrustworthy way, the way you smile could either help heal or hinder social relationships. Those whose smiles reflected reward, or a signal that they were happy, or a smile of dominance, which reflects a feeling of superiority, appeared to be untrustworthy and unlikely to change their deceptive nature. However, a smile of affiliation was perceived as an attempt to make amends, restoring levels of trust.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·September 1, 2021·3 min read

What’s in a Face? Face-Type Judgments Could Lead to Bias

People are more likely to make racially stereotyped judgments about others when their facial features are considered typical of a racial or ethnic group.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·September 1, 2021·4 min read

People Look Alike if We Think They Have Similar Personalities

Knowledge of an individual's personality can influence the perception of a face's identity and bias it toward unrelated people or identities, researchers report.

This shows three images of people with the same face

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·August 30, 2021·5 min read

Unease Beyond the Uncanny Valley: How People React to the Same Faces

A new study examines people's responses to cloned faces, which could soon be the norm for humanized robots.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·July 22, 2021·4 min read

Pandemic Changed Perceptions of Masked Faces

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant effect on our perceptions of facemask wearers. Those who wore facemasks were considered healthier and more attractive than those without masks, a new study reports.

This shows people expressing different emotions. Some have masks on, some glasses

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·December 23, 2020·3 min read

Covering Faces Around Kids Won’t Mask Emotions

Even when a person's face is covered by a surgical mask, children can ascertain their emotions based on other facial cues.

This shows normal faces and the same faces in surgical masks

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology Visual Neuroscience

·December 21, 2020·4 min read

Do I Know You? Researchers Evaluate How Masks Disrupt Facial Perception

It may be harder to recognize familiar faces when they wear a surgical mask to protect against COVID-19, a new study reports. Researchers noted a 15% drop in the ability for people to recognize faces when they were masked.