Temporal Dynamics and Perceptual Consequences of Face Adaptation
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Authors
Shareef, Mohammed Idris
Issue Date
2025
Type
Dissertation
Language
en_US
Keywords
ERP , Face Perception , Face Search , Saliency , Temporal Dynamics , Visual Adaptation
Alternative Title
Abstract
This dissertation examines how the temporal dynamics and perceptual consequences of face adaptation differ for own-race and other-race faces. Across a series of psychophysical and EEG studies, we manipulated adaptor characteristics, including the number and duration of adapting events, total exposure time, and adaptor race, to determine how these factors shape adaptation magnitude and its perceptual outcomes. Our results demonstrate that adaptation is influenced not only by total exposure duration but also by the number of adapting events. Own-race faces consistently produced faster behavioral and neural renormalization than other-race faces, highlighting the role of perceptual expertise in shaping the efficiency of face adaptation. Adaptation also enhanced visual search performance, particularly when adaptor and distractor race were congruent, and these performance benefits emerged without changes in eye-movement patterns, suggesting increased stimulus salience rather than altered search strategies. Overall, these findings indicate that face adaptation is an experience-dependent process that dynamically recalibrates perceptual norms and can improve visual search performance in race-relevant contexts.