Psychologists find skill in recognizing faces peaks after age 30
Finding rebuts pervasive belief that all mental faculties top out in early adulthood
2010-12-22
(Press-News.org) CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Dec. 21, 2010 -- Scientists have made the surprising discovery that our ability to recognize and remember faces peaks at age 30 to 34, about a decade later than most of our other mental abilities.
Researchers Laura T. Germine and Ken Nakayama of Harvard University and Bradley Duchaine of Dartmouth College will present their work in a forthcoming issue of the journal Cognition.
While prior evidence had suggested that face recognition might be slow to mature, Germine says few scientists had suspected that it might continue building for so many years into adulthood. She says the late-blooming nature of face recognition may simply be a case of practice making perfect.
"We all look at faces, and practice face-watching, all the time," says Germine, a Ph.D. student in psychology at Harvard. "It may be that the parts of the brain we use to recognize faces require this extended period of tuning in early adulthood to help us learn and remember a wide variety of different faces."
Germine, Duchaine, and Nakayama used the web-based Cambridge Face Memory Test -- available at www.testmybrain.org -- to test recognition of computer-generated faces among some 44,000 volunteers ages 10 to 70. They found that skill at other mental tasks, such as remembering names, maxes out at age 23 to 24, consistent with previous research.
But on a face-recognition task, skill rose sharply from age 10 to 20, then continued increasing more slowly throughout the 20s, reaching a peak of 83 percent correct responses in the cohort ages 30 to 34.
A follow-up experiment involving computer-generated children's faces found a similar result, with the best face recognition seen among individuals in their early 30s. After this, skill in recognizing faces declined slowly, with the ability of 65-year-olds roughly matching that of 16-year-olds.
"Research on cognition has tended to focus on development, to age 20, and aging, after age 55," Germine says. "Our work shows that the 35 years in between, previously thought to be fairly static, may in fact be more dynamic than many scientists had expected."
###
Germine, Duchaine, and Nakayama's research was sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the Economic and Social Research Council.
END
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2010-12-22
ANN ARBOR, Mich.---The last-minute holiday dash is on: Men tend to rush in for their prized item, pay, and leave. Women study the fabrics, color, texture and price.
The hunting and gathering ritual of yesteryear continues today in malls around the world. Understanding the shopping behavior of your partner can help relieve stress at the stores, according to a researcher at the University of Michigan.
Daniel Kruger of the U-M School of Public Health says that gathering edible plants and fungi is traditionally done by women. In modern terms, think of filling a basket by ...
2010-12-22
DURHAM, N.H. – In a study published December 20 in the Proceedings of the National Academy Sciences (PNAS), a team of researchers including University of New Hampshire scientists Wilfred Wollheim, William McDowell, and Jody Potter details findings that show emissions of the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide from global rivers and streams are three times previous estimates used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – the leading international body for the assessment of climate change.
Waterways receiving nitrogen from human activities such as agriculture and ...
2010-12-22
December is a time for twinkling lights, and scientists at the Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility are delivering. They've just produced a long-sought, rare color of laser light 100 times brighter than that generated anywhere else.
The light was produced by Jefferson Lab's Free-Electron Laser facility. The laser delivered vacuum ultraviolet light in the form of 10 eV photons (a wavelength of 124 nanometers). This color of light is called vacuum ultraviolet because it is absorbed by molecules in the air, requiring its use in a vacuum.
"We ...
2010-12-22
A psychology professor has found that the way people perceive the Silhouette Illusion, a popular illusion that went viral and has received substantial online attention, has little to do with the viewers' personality, or whether they are left- or right-brained, despite the fact that the illusion is often used to test these attributes in popular e-quizzes.
Niko Troje says that a reported preference for seeing the silhouette spinning clockwise rather than counter-clockwise is dependent upon the angle at which the viewer is seeing the image.
"Our visual system, if it ...
2010-12-22
Older men with high-risk prostate cancer frequently are offered fewer – and less effective – choices of treatment than younger men, potentially resulting in earlier deaths, according to a new UCSF study.
The scientists found that men above age 75 with high-risk prostate cancer often are under-treated through hormone therapy or watchful waiting alone in lieu of more aggressive treatments such as surgery and radiation therapies. Instead, say the researchers, old age should not be viewed as a barrier to treatments that could lead to potential cures.
"There is a disconnect ...
2010-12-22
WASHINGTON, Dec. 21, 2010 — The American Chemical Society (ACS) applauds Congress for reauthorizing the America COMPETES Act today.
America COMPETES (Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education and Science), was originally enacted in 2007 and needed to be reauthorized this year in order to provide continued support for scientific research, technological development, science, technology, engineering and math education.
"I want to extend our appreciation to Congress for passing COMPETES; it is the backbone of our nation's scientific ...
2010-12-22
TORONTO, Ont., Dec. 21, 2010 – St. Michael's Hospital today became the first in Ontario to implant a small but powerful new defibrillator into a patient's chest.
The defibrillator – about the size of a Zippo lighter – is the smallest available in terms of surface area and can deliver the highest level of energy, 40 joules.
The narrow shape of the device allowed Dr. Iqwal Mangat to make a smaller incision in the patient's chest, which should mean a faster recovery and smaller scar. The "minimally invasive" procedure is performed on an outpatient basis, with most patients ...
2010-12-22
Washington, DC – The Science Coalition issued the following statement today from President Deborah Altenburg after the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 5116, the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010:
On behalf of The Science Coalition's 46 member universities, we thank the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate for reauthorizing this vital piece of legislation just days before its expiration and amid a busy lame duck session. The America COMPETES Act has tremendous implications for future job creation, economic growth and American competitiveness abroad. ...
2010-12-22
St. Louis, MO, December 22, 2010 – The leading causes of death have shifted from infectious diseases to chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. These illnesses may be affected by diet. In a study published in the January 2011 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, researchers investigated empirical data regarding the associations of dietary patterns with mortality through analysis of the eating patterns of over 2500 adults between the ages of 70 and 79 over a ten-year period. They found that diets favoring certain foods were associated ...
2010-12-22
Located at Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, Weld Deluxe have had the privilege to serve prestigious clients from diverse industries that include, oil and gas, construction, aviation, food processing, and ship building. WeldDelux.com ( http://www.weld-delux.co.uk ) is now launched to serve a global client-base.
"Over a period of years we have diversified our services from simple repairs to complete manufacturing and installation of products. Our team of highly skilled fabricators and welders has managed to pull through the toughest of designs, thus earning us the reputation ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Psychologists find skill in recognizing faces peaks after age 30
Finding rebuts pervasive belief that all mental faculties top out in early adulthood
