Even Subtle Cultural Differences Affect Face Tuning

Overview

Journal PLoS One

Specialties General Medicine
Science

Date 2018 Jun 12

PMID 29889882

Citations 6

Authors

Marina A Pavlova

Julie Heiz

Alexander N Sokolov

Andreas J Fallgatter

Koviljka Barisnikov

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Culture shapes social cognition in many ways. Yet cultural impact on face tuning remains largely unclear. Here typically developing females and males from the French-speaking part of Switzerland were presented with a set of Arcimboldo-like Face-n-Food images composed of food ingredients and in different degree resembling a face. The outcome had been compared with previous findings obtained in young adults of the South-West Germany. In that study, males exhibit higher thresholds for face tuning on the Face-n-Food task than females. In Swiss participants, no gender differences exist in face tuning. Strikingly, males from the French-speaking part of Switzerland possess higher sensitivity to faces than their German peers, whereas no difference in face tuning occurs between females. The outcome indicates that even relatively subtle cultural differences as well as culture by gender interaction can modulate social cognition. Clarification of the nature of cultural impact on face tuning as well as social cognition at large is of substantial value for understanding a wide range of neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental conditions.

Citing Articles

Do subtle cultural differences sculpt face pareidolia?.

Romagnano V, Sokolov A, Fallgatter A, Pavlova M Schizophrenia (Heidelb). 2023; 9(1):28.

PMID: 37142598 PMC: 10160123. DOI: 10.1038/s41537-023-00355-y.

Face pareidolia in male schizophrenia.

Romagnano V, Sokolov A, Steinwand P, Fallgatter A, Pavlova M Schizophrenia (Heidelb). 2022; 8(1):112.

PMID: 36517504 PMC: 9751144. DOI: 10.1038/s41537-022-00315-y.

Social cognition in individuals born preterm.

Pavlova M, Galli J, Zanetti F, Pagani F, Micheletti S, Rossi A Sci Rep. 2021; 11(1):14448.

PMID: 34262075 PMC: 8280144. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-93709-4.

Face pareidolia in the brain: Impact of gender and orientation.

Pavlova M, Romagnano V, Fallgatter A, Sokolov A PLoS One. 2020; 15(12):e0244516.

PMID: 33382767 PMC: 7774913. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0244516.

Do I trust you when you smile? Effects of sex and emotional expression on facial trustworthiness appraisal.

Galinsky D, Erol E, Atanasova K, Bohus M, Krause-Utz A, Lis S PLoS One. 2020; 15(12):e0243230.

PMID: 33270729 PMC: 7714177. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0243230.

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