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Discrimination of faces and houses by rhesus monkeys: the role of stimulus expertise and rotation angle

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Abstract

The face inversion effect, or impaired recognition of upside down compared to upright faces, is used as a marker for the configural processing of faces in primates. The inversion effect in humans and chimpanzees is strongest for categories of stimuli for which subjects have considerable expertise, primarily conspecifics’ faces. Moreover, discrimination performance decreases linearly as faces are incrementally rotated from upright to inverted. This suggests that rotated faces must be transformed, or normalized back into their most typical viewpoint before configural processing can ensue, and the greater the required normalization, the greater the likelihood of errors resulting. Previous studies in our lab have demonstrated a general face inversion effect in rhesus monkeys that was not influenced by expertise. Therefore, the present study examined the influence of rotation angle on the visual perception of face and nonface stimuli that varied in their level of expertise to further delineate the processes underlying the inversion effect in rhesus monkeys. Five subjects discriminated images in five orientation angles. Results showed significant linear impairments for all stimulus categories, including houses. However, compared to the upright images, only rhesus faces resulted in worse performance at rotation angles greater than 45°, suggesting stronger configural processing for stimuli for which subjects had the greatest expertise.

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Acknowledgments

This investigation was supported by RR-00165 from the NIH/NCRR to the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, and R01-MH068791 to L. A. Parr. Thanks to Gauri Pradhan and Daniel Brubaker for assistance with animal testing, the animal care staff at Yerkes National Primate Research Center, and three anonymous reviewers for helpful comments. The Yerkes Primate Center is fully accredited by the American Association for Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Yerkes National Primate Research Center, 954 Gatewood Rd, Atlanta, GA, 30329, USA

    Lisa A. Parr & Matthew Heintz

  2. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA

    Lisa A. Parr

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  1. Lisa A. Parr
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  2. Matthew Heintz
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Correspondence to Lisa A. Parr.

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Parr, L.A., Heintz, M. Discrimination of faces and houses by rhesus monkeys: the role of stimulus expertise and rotation angle. Anim Cogn 11, 467–474 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-008-0137-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-008-0137-4

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