The aim of this thesis is to increase our knowledge of individual differences in the neural processing and appraisal of children’s faces that differ in their degree of resemblance with the... Show moreThe aim of this thesis is to increase our knowledge of individual differences in the neural processing and appraisal of children’s faces that differ in their degree of resemblance with the participant’s face. Chapter 2 focuses on participants’ neural responses to child faces that differ in their degree of resemblance with the participant’s face, both in neutral and threatening contexts. Moderating effects of love withdrawal and empathy are examined to explore associations between participants’ experiences with love withdrawal, their levels of empathy and their neural processing of facial resemblance. In Chapter 3, we examine how participants’ evaluations of the different child faces on a range of negative and positive criteria are affected by children’s degree of resemblance with the participant’s face. In addition, we explore how experiences of love withdrawal and FFA activity moderate participants’ appraisal of these child faces. Chapter 4 focuses on the test-retest reliability of the fMRI data acquired during the face processing paradigm we used to examine the effects of facial resemblance on participants’ brain activity. Show less
Berge, J.; Blok, J.; Maldonado, C.G.; Heckendorf, E.; Holst-Bernal, S.; Noten, M.; ... ; Verlinden, E. 2018
