Patterns of Cerebral Dominance in Wholistic and Featural Stages of Facial Processing

Abstract

Ellis (1983) has proposed that an initial stage of face processing is “classification” whereby a face is categorised as such in order for it to undergo further face-related processing. This involves an overall assessment that the stimulus configuration is consistent with the organisation of a face. It is therefore ‘wholistic’; being principally concerned with the relationships between stimulus elements rather than the identity of specific features. A right hemisphere superiority in wholistic processing is generally assumed (e.g. Nebes, 1978) thus one would expect facial classification to be right lateralised. This prediction is supported by Newcombe (1974) who found that patients with right hemisphere damage had difficulty in performing successful closures on Mooney (1957) Faces (see Figure 1).