Testing the own-age bias in face recognition among younger and older adults via the face inversion effect

Abstract

This study examines the perceptual expertise basis of the own-age bias (OAB)—better recognition of faces from one's own age group—in young (n = 64; 19–30 years) and older adults (n = 64; 69–80 years). Participants engaged in an old/new recognition task involving upright and inverted young and older faces. The results revealed a robust OAB in the younger group, characterized by a reduced face inversion effect (“FIE”)—more accurate recognition for upright versus inverted faces—when processing older/other-age faces compared to the pronounced FIE for own/younger-age faces. This difference was primarily driven by disrupted performance for upright older faces vs. upright young faces. In contrast, no OAB was observed in the older group, which exhibited a strong FIE for both own/older- and other/younger-age faces, with upright older faces being recognized more accurately than in the younger group. These findings underscore the importance of perceptual expertise in explaining the OAB.