Research Project Summary

In my research project, I wanted to address the following questions:  

1.     Do hearing signers differ from hearing bilingual non-signers in face recognition accuracy? If so, does the duration of sign language experience have an influence?

2.     Do hearing signers look at faces differently compared to hearing bilingual non-signers during face recognition?

Who was included and what did they do?

Thirty-one adult hearing signers (BSL Level 6 equivalency) completed a language experience questionnaire, lipreading and BSL comprehension tasks. They also completed face recognition tasks, during which we collected data showing where they looked at faces on the screen. We compared this data to data collected from hearing people who were bilingual in two spoken languages. 

We found that hearing signers were better at face recognition tasks than hearing bilingual non-signers.

What about differences in BSL experience?

The age at which signers were first exposed to and started to learn BSL, as well as the length of their experience with BSL, was not linked to their face recognition ability. This suggests that the experience of learning and communicating fluently through BSL, irrespective of age of acquisition and duration of use, is linked to better face recognition skills. 

Did signers look at faces differently?

We predicted that signers would look at the mouth more than non-signers during face recognition. We thought signers would have a ‘preference’ for the mouth because this area provides important language information when using BSL. However, our eye-tracking data showed that this was not the case. Both signers and non-signers preferred to look at the eyes during face recognition. This fits with existing research that shows a reliance on the eyes is typical and useful for face recognition. This means that BSL experience does not significantly increase visual attention to the mouth during face processing.

What has this research helped us understand from a wider perspective? 

This research has important implications for understanding how our unique language experiences can shape the way we interact with our social world. Never before has a study controlled for both bilingualism and hearing status, whilst using eye-tracking methods to examine the influence of BSL experience. By doing so, we now have a better understanding of how BSL experience positively impacts face processing ability.

What is next for the research?

We are currently exploring further analysis of the face recognition data ready for publication. The Visual Communications Group, UCL and the University of British Columbia (UBC) will continue to analyse the BSL comprehension and lipreading data, as it was not possible to include all of this in my thesis. 

FURTHER RESEARCH PUBLISHON THIS IS COMING SOON...