The Asymmetric Distribution of Informative Face Information during Gender Recognition

Abstract

Recognition of the gender of a face is important in social interactions. In the current study, the distribution of informative facial information was systematically examined during gender judgment using two methods, Bubbles and Focus windows techniques. Two experiments found that the most informative information was around the eyes, followed by the mouth and nose. Other parts of the face contributed to the gender recognition but were less important. The left side of the face was used more during gender recognition in two experiments. These results show mainly areas around the eyes are used for gender judgment and demonstrate perceptual asymmetry with a normal (non-chimeric) face.