Three-month-olds, but not newborns, prefer own-race faces

Adults are sensitive to the physical differences that define ethnic groups. However, the age at which we become sensitive to ethnic differences is currently unclear. Our study aimed to clarify this by testing newborns and young infants for sensitivity to ethnicity using a visual preference (VP) para...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Developmental science 2005-11, Vol.8 (6), p.F31-F36
Main Authors: Kelly, David J., Quinn, Paul C., Slater, Alan M., Lee, Kang, Gibson, Alan, Smith, Michael, Ge, Liezhong, Pascalis, Olivier
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age Differences
Babies
Child Development
Choice Behavior - physiology
Cognitive Processes
Developmental psychology
Developmental Stages
Ethnic Groups
Eyes & eyesight
Face - anatomy & histology
Female
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Infants
Male
Neonates
Perceptions
Racial differences
Racial Factors
Racial Groups - psychology
Recognition, Psychology - physiology
Visual Perception - physiology
White People
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Summary:Adults are sensitive to the physical differences that define ethnic groups. However, the age at which we become sensitive to ethnic differences is currently unclear. Our study aimed to clarify this by testing newborns and young infants for sensitivity to ethnicity using a visual preference (VP) paradigm. While newborn infants demonstrated no spontaneous preference for faces from either their own‐ or other‐ethnic groups, 3‐month‐old infants demonstrated a significant preference for faces from their own‐ethnic group. These results suggest that preferential selectivity based on ethnic differences is not present in the first days of life, but is learned within the first 3 months of life. The findings imply that adults’ perceptions of ethnic differences are learned and derived from differences in exposure to own‐ versus other‐race faces during early development.
ISSN:1363-755X
1467-7687
DOI:10.1111/j.1467-7687.2005.0434a.x