TY - JOUR
T1 - Why faces may be special
T2 - Evidence of the inversion effect in chimpanzees
AU - Parr, Lisa A.
AU - Dove, Tara
AU - Hopkins, William D.
PY - 1998
Y1 - 1998
N2 - Five chimpanzees were tested on their ability to discriminate faces and automobiles presented in both their upright and inverted orientations. The face stimuli consisted of 30 black and white photographs, 10 each of unfamiliar chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), brown capuchins (Cebus apella), and humans (Homo sapiens). Ten black and white photographs of automobiles were also used. The stimuli were presented in a sequential matching-to-sample (SMTS) format using a computerized joystick-testing apparatus. Subjects performed better on upright than inverted stimuli in all classes. Performance was significantly better on upright than inverted presentations of chimpanzee and human faces but not on capuchin monkey faces or automobiles. These data support previous studies in humans that suggest the inversion effect occurs for stimuli for which subjects have developed an expertise. Alternative explanations for the inversion effect based on the type of spacial frequency contained in the stimuli are also discussed. These data are the first to provide evidence for the inversion effect using several classes of face stimuli in a great ape species.
AB - Five chimpanzees were tested on their ability to discriminate faces and automobiles presented in both their upright and inverted orientations. The face stimuli consisted of 30 black and white photographs, 10 each of unfamiliar chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), brown capuchins (Cebus apella), and humans (Homo sapiens). Ten black and white photographs of automobiles were also used. The stimuli were presented in a sequential matching-to-sample (SMTS) format using a computerized joystick-testing apparatus. Subjects performed better on upright than inverted stimuli in all classes. Performance was significantly better on upright than inverted presentations of chimpanzee and human faces but not on capuchin monkey faces or automobiles. These data support previous studies in humans that suggest the inversion effect occurs for stimuli for which subjects have developed an expertise. Alternative explanations for the inversion effect based on the type of spacial frequency contained in the stimuli are also discussed. These data are the first to provide evidence for the inversion effect using several classes of face stimuli in a great ape species.
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U2 - 10.1162/089892998563013
DO - 10.1162/089892998563013
M3 - Article
C2 - 9802994
AN - SCOPUS:0031730653
SN - 0898-929X
VL - 10
SP - 615
EP - 622
JO - Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
JF - Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
IS - 5
ER -