Discriminating sex from representations of the human hand: Evidence of a pan-stimulus male bias
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1
Southern Cross University, School of Health and Human Sciences, Australia
Numerous studies have demonstrated how sex may be discriminated from faces, yet the question of how the quality of sex more generally is discriminated remains a mystery. It is possible, for instance, that perceived sex arises via cue-invariant or cue-dependent neural mechanisms, or both. To test those possibilities, we searched for evidence of pan-stimulus effects or behavioural patterns arising across a range of stimulus types. Taken in combination with findings from earlier studies, our data suggest the male bias - the tendency to assume maleness under conditions of high perceptual ambiguity - to be one possibility. Specifically, we report the bias arises not only in response to established face and body representations, but also to novel representations of the human hand. Potential implications of the finding for neural models of sex discrimination are discussed.
Keywords:
visual sex discrimination,
dimorphism,
hands,
male bias,
other person perception
Conference:
ACNS-2012 Australasian Cognitive Neuroscience Conference, Brisbane, Australia, 29 Nov - 2 Dec, 2012.
Presentation Type:
Poster Presentation
Topic:
Sensation and Perception
Citation:
Gaetano
J,
Brooks
A and
Van Der Zwan
R
(2012). Discriminating sex from representations of the human hand: Evidence of a pan-stimulus male bias.
Conference Abstract:
ACNS-2012 Australasian Cognitive Neuroscience Conference.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2012.208.00200
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Received:
18 Sep 2012;
Published Online:
27 Nov 2012.
*
Correspondence:
Mr. Justin Gaetano, Southern Cross University, School of Health and Human Sciences, Coffs Harbour, NSW, 2450, Australia, justin.gaetano85@gmail.com