The Influence Of Eye Presentation And Eye Gaze On Face Holistic Processing

Eyes play a vital role in face holistic processing.There are controversies as to why eyes effect face holistic processing.One view is that the presentation of eyes enhances face holistic processing.When eyes were removed from the face,the face inversion effect disappeared.Other researchers believe that the eye gaze has priority on holistic processing.The composite face effect disappeared when eye gaze was averted,which caused the disruption of the face holistic encoding.In this current study,we manipulate the presentation of eyes and eye gaze to investigate the impact of eyes on holistic processing in face perception and face recognition with inversion paradigm.In study 1,face inversion paradigm was employed.We investigate the influence of the presentation of eyes and eye gaze on face holistic processing in face perception.In experiment 1,participants were asked to perform the orientation judgement on three types of faces: eyes forward face(have eyes,have eye gaze),eyes closed face(have eyes,no eye gaze)and without eyes face(no eyes,no eye gaze),which aimed to explore the impact of eye gaze on face holistic processing.Results manifested that a significant face inversion effect in eyes forward face but not in eyes closed faces or eyeless face.In experiment 2a,participants were asked to perform the same task on three types of faces: eyes forward face,sunglass covered face(no eyes,have eye gaze)and without eyes face,which aimed to explore the influence of the presentation of eyes on face holistic processing.Results showed a significant face inversion effect in eyes forward face and sunglasses covered face but not in without eyes face.In experiment 2b,three types of faces were presented to participants: eyes forward face,sunglasses covered face and white paper covered face.Results manifested that a significant face inversion effect in eyes forward face but not in sunglasses covered face or white paper covered face.In study 2,to clarify the neural mechanisms about the impact of eyes on face holistic processing,we additionally analyzed event related potentials.Three types of faces were presented in experiment3: eyes forward face,eyes closed face and sunglass covered face.Results showed that a significant face inversion effect in N170 in eyes forward face and sunglasses covered face but not in eyes closed face.In study 3 old/new paradigm was employed and four types of faces were performed: eyes forward face,eyes closed face,sunglass covered face and with black cloth covered(no eyes,no eye gaze).Results showed that a significant face inversion effect in N170 in all types of faces,and there was a significant main effect of the presentation of eyes.In summary,we found that both the presentation of eyes and eye gaze facilitate face holistic processing but in different processing.Eye gaze facilitates face holistic processing in face perception,and the presentation of eyes facilitates it in face recognition.