Previous research has shown that 3-month-olds prefer own- over other-race faces. The current study used eye-tracking methodology to examine how this visual preference develops with age beyond 3 months and how infants differentially scan between own- and other-race faces when presented simultaneously. We showed own- versus other-race face pairs to 3-, 6-, and 9-month-old Chinese infants. In contrast with 3-month-olds' visual preference for own-race faces, 9-month-olds preferentially looked more at other-race faces. Analyses of eye-tracking data revealed that Chinese infants processed own- and other-race faces differentially. These findings shed important light on the role of visual experience in the development of visual preference and its relation to perceptual narrowing.
(c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).