Babyface Effect in Social Attention: The Moderated Effect of Context

doi:10.12139/j.1672-0628.2026.04.001

Abstract

Abstract:

People tend to show a preference for baby-faced individuals over mature-faced ones (the babyface effect). However, little is known about whether and how this bias operates at early stages of processing, particularly within social attention. Given the central role of the gaze cueing effect (GCE) in social attention, the present study examined the influence of baby-facedness on GCE by systematically manipulating contextual factors. In Experiment 1, a within-block design was used to create a contrast context. The results showed that participants were more likely to follow the gaze direction of male mature-faced faces and female baby-faced faces. In contrast, Experiment 2 and Experiment 3 employed a between-block design and emotional music priming to construct bottom-up and top-down contexts, respectively. In both experiments, the modulatory effect of baby-facedness on GCE was no longer observed. These findings indicate that contextual factors can eliminate babyface-related attentional biases in social interactions. The present study provides empirical support for the eyeTUNE framework and offers practical insights for predicting, modulating, and controlling the babyface effect in real-world applications.

Key words: babyface effect, gaze cueing effect, social attention, context

摘要：

社会互动中人们更加偏爱娃娃脸面孔(即娃娃脸效应)，然而少有研究关注其在早期加工，尤其是社会性注意中的作用。注视线索效应在社会性注意中占据核心地位，故本研究以成人娃娃脸和成熟脸作为刺激材料，通过操纵情境因素考察娃娃脸对注视线索效应的影响。实验1通过组块内设计形成对比情境，结果发现被试更愿意追随女性娃娃脸或男性成熟脸的注视方向。实验2和实验3分别通过组块间设计和情绪性音乐启动构建自下而上和自上而下的情境，结果发现娃娃脸对注视线索效应的调节作用消失。结果表明，情境因素能够消除娃娃脸在社会交互中导致的注意偏向。本研究为eyeTUNE框架提供了实验证据，也有助于在应用层面对娃娃脸的认知效应进行动态调控。

关键词: 娃娃脸效应, 注视线索效应, 社会性注意, 情境

CLC Number:

B842

Yunfei GAO, Xiaoqian HU, Luyao WANG, Jingjing ZHAO, Yonghui WANG. Babyface Effect in Social Attention: The Moderated Effect of Context[J]. Studies of Psychology and Behavior, 2026, 24(4): 433-441.

高云飞, 户晓倩, 王璐瑶, 赵晶晶, 王勇慧. 社会注意中的娃娃脸效应：情境的调节作用[J]. 心理与行为研究, 2026, 24(4): 433-441.

Figures/Tables 6

References 0

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