ИСТИНА

In modern studies the concept of holistic processing in face perception is actively discussed. The role of holistic processing can be measured using the face inversion effect (FIE): subjects have difficulty recognizing the inverted faces. Despite accumulating empirical evidence on this issue, some central questions remain yet unanswered. One of them concerns the impact of holistic processing on eye movement strategies during face perception. In our study we explored the influence of FIE (upright versus inverted faces) on eye movements strategies in the task of assessing facial attractiveness. Stimuli were 10 photographs (5 female and 5 male faces). For each photograph 9 modifications were created which impaired the facial attractiveness, namely the distance between the eyes or between the mouth and nose has been changed. Stimuli were presented in upright and inverted orientation for 2 seconds. Thirty two participants (17 F, 15 M, age range 18-25) were tested. Their task was to rate the perceived attractiveness of the upright or inverted faces on a scale from 1 to 9. During the execution participant’s eye movements were recorded. A repeated-measures 2x2 ANOVA with the factors orientation (upright, inverted) and attractiveness (high, low) revealed significant interaction between them (F=8.45, p<0.03). The dispersion of attractiveness scores was higher for upright faces. The eye movement parameters were analyzed for two groups with high and low average scores of facial attractiveness. For high attractive faces saccade amplitudes and peak velocities were significantly higher (p<0.01) for inverted faces. There were no significant differences in these parameters for low attractive faces. The AOI analysis showed differences in the fixation locations: fixations were concentrated on the eye and nose regions for upright faces and on the nose and mouth regions for inverted faces. The AOI patterns were similar for low and high attractive faces. These findings suggest that the holistic processing is tightly related to eye movement strategies in the task of assessing facial attractiveness. The results can be applied in automated face recognition systems, in biofeedback devises, in technologies aimed to improve cognitive rehabilitation, etc. The study was funded by RFBR grant, project №18-013-01087