engleski

The structure of face cognition measures across time

Perceiving and memorizing faces are basic processes of face cognition (Bruce & Young, 1986), which is a vital part of everyday communication. People are thought to be experts in face processing, but it is well established that individuals broadly differ in their ability to accurately process the information contained in faces. There are two categories of facial information that become relevant in face to face interactions: The invariant facial cues (e.g., information pertaining to a person’s facial identity) and the changeable facial aspects (e.g., emotional expressions, gaze related information). The accuracy of processing such facial cues partly depends on general cognitive abilities, memory, and the general ability of processing complex visual stimuli. However, face cognition is partly a specific ability (Hildebrandt et al., 2011, 2013). Thus, tests measuring specific face cognition abilities are warranted for applied measurement purpose. Wilhelm and colleagues (2010) developed an instrument, the Berlin Face Test (BeFaT), encompassing different ways of measuring the accuracy of face cognition. This instrument also includes measures of general cognitive abilities to enable the estimation of face cognition as an indicator of a specific ability above general cognitive processing (Hildebrandt et al., 2011). This instrument has demonstrated measurement invariance across age groups and gender (Hildebrandt et al., 2010, Sommer et al., 2013). Here, we have further explored the measurement invariance of this instrument, specifically across time and not across groups. The sample consisted of Croatian female students (Mage = 21.2). The data for each participant were collected on two occasions on average five months apart (n1 = 305, n2 = 255). The analyses indicated partial scale invariance. Face cognition abilities showed high average intraindividual stability. The implications for future research, especially on correlates of face cognition will be discussed.

face cognition, measurement invariance, stability

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