<!doctype html public "-//W3C//DTD W3 HTML//EN">
<html><head><style type="text/css"><!--
blockquote, dl, ul, ol, li { padding-top: 0 ; padding-bottom: 0 }
--></style><title>Feedback on faces</title></head><body>
<div>Here are the responses I received to the question below, since
some of you have asked me to post them. If I get any more I will
send them on separately.</div>
<div><br></div>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>Annette<br>
I know there is research showing that infants prefer "beautiful"
(symmetrical) faces over others, but is there research showing that
they prefer children's faces over adult ones, or female over male
etc.? Or other such preferences? Idem with voices. I know
they can discriminate, and believe that they prefer motherese over
adult-directed speech, but do they show preference for child voices
over adult, female over male, etc.?<br>
All info most appreciated.<br>
thanks<br>
Annette</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<div><br></div>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>Hi Annette,</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>I don't know about research, but I
remember that when I had babies, there were lots of books for infants
containing pictures of babies and young children - so someone in
publishing knows/thinks there is a preference; and my kids loved
looking at the pictures of children (also at checkerboards and
bulls-eyes, of course).</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>Lucia</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>Dr. Lucia French<br>
1-312 Dewey<br>
Warner Graduate School of Education and Human Development<br>
University of Rochester</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>Rochester NY 14627</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>(716) 275-3235</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>(716) 473-7598 [fax]</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>email:
lufr@troi.cc.rochester.edu<br>
many thanks, Lucia. I agree, but I need some research to back
the statement if poss.</blockquote>
<div><br>
<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>Paul Quinn talked to me about a study
showing that, although infants<br>
generally prefer female faces, infants raised by their father prefer
male</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>faces. Unfortunately, I do not have an
exact reference.<br>
Gergo</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>Gergely
Csibra Centre of Brain
and Cognitive Development<br>
Research Scientist School of Psychology<br>
Senior Lecturer Birkbeck
College<br>
g.csibra@bbk.ac.uk Malet Street<br>
Tel: +44 20 7631 6323 London WC1E 7HX</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>Fax: +44 20 7631 6587 United
Kingdom</blockquote>
<blockquote><br>
Paul Quinn <pquinn@washjeff.edu></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>Quinn, P. C., Yahr, J., Kuhn, A., Slater,
A. M., & Pascalis, O. (2002).</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>Representation of the gender of human
faces by infants: A preference for</blockquote>
<div>female. Perception, 31, 1109-1121.</div>
<div><br></div>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>hi annette</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>maybe slightly off-beam, but did you know
that newborn males look for longer at a mobile, whilst newborn females
look for longer at a face? Connellan et al, 2001, Inf Behav and
Dev.</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>hope all's well</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>simon</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>Simon Baron-Cohen<br>
Professor of Developmental Psychopathology<br>
Co-Director<br>
Autism Research Centre<br>
Cambridge University<br>
Departments of Experimental Psychology and Psychiatry<br>
Downing St, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK<br>
tel 01223 333557 fax 01223 333561<br>
www.psychiatry.cam.ac.uk/arc<br>
and<br>
www.human-emotions.com</blockquote>
<div><br></div>
<div><br></div>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>Dear Annette,<br>
On voices, I have nothing about female over male, etc. as you
ask.<br>
On faces, I found this:<br>
<br>
× Langlois, J.H. & L.A.Roggman
(1990), Attractive faces are only average, Psychological Science 1:
115-121. (On infants' preference for attractive faces)<br>
<br>
× Slater, A., C. von der
Schulenburg, E. Brown, M. Badenoch, G. Butterworth, S. Parsons &
C. Samuels (1998) Newborn infants prefer attractive faces, Infant
Behavior and Development 21: 345-354.<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>×
Samuels, C.A., G. Butterworth, T. Roberts & L. Graupner (1994),
Babies prefer attractiveness to symmetry, Perception 23:
823-831.</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>Best</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite> Madalena<br>
Madalena Cruz-Ferreira<br>
ellmcf@nus.edu.sg</blockquote>
<div><br>
<br>
</div>
<div>Dear Annette,<br>
1. I once attended a class taught by Barry Brazelton,<br>
who had a newborn brought in and had two talkers:<br>
a male and a female talking at the same time in the<br>
baby's two ears. The newborn immediately turned his head<br>
towards the female and continued paying<br>
attention to the female's direction. Dr. Brazelton<br>
used this behavior to support the notion of the infant's<br>
"readiness" for speech. According to him, it is common<br>
knowledge among nurses that there is a preference<br>
for higher-pitched voices in newborns. This is, however,<br>
not a preference for female voices but, rather, for<br>
higher-pitched voices.<br>
<br>
2. The voice preference issue is a reserach area<br>
explored in detail by Melanie Spence. Her dissertation should<br>
be useful:<br>
</div>
<div>Spence, Melanie Jean. Newborns' Preference for Female Voices as a
Function of Spectral Composition. Dissertation Abstracts
International. 46(2):680B. 1985 Aug.. Ann Arbor, MI</div>
<div><br>
Best,</div>
<div>Krisztina<br>
Krisztina Zajds, M.A., M.A., Ph.D.</div>
<div>Linguist, Speech scientist<br>
Postdoctoral Research Associate &</div>
<div>Senior lecturer<br>
University of Texas at Austin<br>
Dept. of Communication Sciences and Disorders<br>
CMA 7.214<br>
Drawer A 1100<br>
Austin, TX 78712</div>
<div>USA<br>
P: 512-475-7046<br>
F: 512-471-2957<br>
zajdo@hotmail.com</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>From: "M.A.Vanduuren"
<M.A.Vanduuren@wkac.ac.uk><br>
To: 'Annette Karmiloff-Smith'
<a.karmiloff-smith@ich.ucl.ac.uk><br>
Subject: RE: faces<br>
Date: Tue, 5 Nov 2002 20:59:29 -0000</div>
<div>X-UCL-MailScanner: Found to be clean<br>
Hi Annette,<br>
I have an article in press with International journal of
behavioural<br>
development (I you are interested a pdf version is at<br>
http://www.wkac.ac.uk/psychology under my name (along with infant
faces used<br>
in the study) in the list which shows infants prefer to look at
pre-sexually<br>
mature infant faces (ie faces rated as miniature versions of
attractive<br>
adult faces) over infant faces rated as cute (ie having
morphological<br>
features thought to trigger care instinct responses (eg protective
caring<br>
non threatening behaviour). As far as pitting infant against adult
faces<br>
sorry cant help.<br>
Best,</div>
<div>Mike van duuren.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>From: Kathy Hirsh-Pasek <khirshpa@nimbus.temple.edu><br>
Subject: Re: faces<br>
To: Annette Karmiloff-Smith
<a.karmiloff-smith@ich.ucl.ac.uk></div>
<div>X-UCL-MailScanner: Found to be clean<br>
Annette -- I don't know the answer to your first question but think it
is</div>
<div>probably mentioned in an article that just came out in
Developmental Psych that<br>
I received yesterday. The paper is called "Newborns'
preference for faces: What<br>
is crucial?" The first author is Chiara Turati. Hope
that helps. Kathy</div>
<div><br></div>
</body>
</html>