This book on face perception is one of the most researched areas in infancy and early childhood, because of the enormous information that the face conveys to its viewer, both in terms of the recognition of individuals and in the expressive information that faces convey. It remains a complex area, but a number of theoretical issues have emerged which motivate much of the current research. This book describes many of these issues, and also presents some empirical research findings to illustrate the ways in which researchers carry out their investigations.

This book draws together, for the first time, the latest scientific findings from leading international researchers on how face recognition develops. It is only in recent years that methods acceptable in experimental psychology have been developed for studying this vital and unique process. While other publications have concentrated on computer modeling and of face processing and the like, this one is unique in that it looks at fundamental (and so far unanswered) questions such as: What are the roots of and reasons for our ability to recognize faces? How much of this ability is learned and how much innate? By connecting studies on face processing in infancy with those on the development of face processing, it thus bridges the gap between face processing research and visual perceptual development. Leading researchers from USA and Europe who have conducted pioneering work in these domains describe results and anticipate future inquiry, covering topics such as fundamental cognitive abilities in infancy, development of face processing from infancy to adulthood, and the effects of expertise on face recognition.

In the past 30 years, face perception has become an area of major interest within psychology. This is the most comprehensive and commanding review of the field ever published.

'Face Processing' seeks to answer questions such as how we recognise familiar faces, and which factors determine facial attractiveness. Drawing on a wealth of studies and research, it is an essential companion for undergraduates studying face processing as part of a psychology degree.

Face processing is now a mainstream, multi-faceted and global research field in psychology, and it is growing exponentially. The volume of emerging research necessitates continuous efforts to update our overall understanding of current theory. This book brings together contributions from face processing researchers around the world to provide up-to-date reviews of topics of great current interest. The book is partitioned to give insight into face processing systems, such as those employed to verify a persons identity in applied security settings, the state-of-the-art systems utilised for the construction of criminal facial composites in police investigations, and the cognitive systems for the recognition of familiar faces and bodies; disorders, focusing on people with extremely high and extremely poor face processing ability, as well as face processing in autism spectrum disorder; and cultural differences, including the development of perceptual and social race biases, the impact of cultural headdress traditions and reading directions on face perception, cultural similarities and differences in the processing of facial expressions, as well as a broader look at ethnicity, gender and age biases in face processing. The outcome is a book that provides diverse, interesting, useful and thought-provoking chapters, covering a range of topics of current theoretical and applied importance, authored by a combination of internationally renowned and exciting upcoming researchers.

This book seeks to comprehensively address the face recognition problem while gaining new insights from complementary fields of endeavor. These include neurosciences, statistics, signal and image processing, computer vision, machine learning and data mining. The book examines the evolution of research surrounding the field to date, explores new directions, and offers specific guidance on the most promising venues for future research and development. The book’s focused approach and its clarity of presentation make this an excellent reference work.

This handbook provides a comprehensive survey of what is now known about psychological development, from birth to biological maturity, and it highlights how cultural, social, cognitive, neural, and molecular processes work together to yield human behavior and changes in human behavior.