Effect of gaze direction and face expression on visual reflexive attention

摘要

As important social clues, gaze direction and expression usually influence people's social interaction in their communication, and facial cognition is also a hot topic in social cognitive study. In our studies, by comparing facial cognition in upright and inverted face, considering both gaze direction and expression, we tried to explore the mechanism of gaze and expression processing by the method of Posner, and explored sex difference in it. Results indicated that gaze direction could act as a central cue and brought out benefit effect and cost effect only when face is upright. While negative expression would act as an abstractor and prolonged the reflexive attention to target also only in upright face, which means expression and gaze direction were both processed by holistic with the face. What's more, we found sex difference in these two processing.