Increased Age Linked to Delayed Face Detection in Ambiguous Stimuli

Previous research has identified correlations between individual differences, such as age, and perceptual processes. However, the specific roles of these factors in face and house detection and the categorization of ambiguous stimuli remain inadequately understood. To address this issue, we employed a face/house categorization task to investigate how participants of different ages perceive human agents versus non-natural objects amidst varying levels of visual noise (40%, 50%, 60%, and 70%). Our results revealed that older participants exhibit longer reaction times (RT) in face detection under low-noise, ambiguous conditions (40% noise)—pointing toward a selective effect of age on face processing rather than on other object categories, such as houses.