Do we process faces differently than objects?

The Faces/Houses Task is a measurement of visual object recognition that compares processing of faces versus houses (a stand in for objects). This task can be used to explore relationships between face perception and constructs such as age, social cognition, or attentional control. Past research indicates that faces are processed faster and more accurately than houses, reflecting specialized neural mechanisms in the fusiform face area for identifying human faces (Weiner & Grill‑Spector, 2012).
Resources:

• Weiner, K.S., Grill-Spector, K. (2012). The improbable simplicity of the fusiform face area. Trends in Cognitive Science. 16(5):251-4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2012.03.003
• Kanwisher, N., et al. (1979). The fusiform face area: a module in human extrastriate cortex specialized for face perception. Journal of Neuroscience;17(11):4302-11. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.17-11-04302.1997

Parameters
The following features can be tweaked (default values shown in parentheses):

• Task instructions
• Number of trials (96)
• Number of practice trials (6)
• Duration of fixation cross (500 ms)
• Duration of feedback (1000 ms)
• Trial randomization (yes)
  Trials are randomized and balanced across face and house conditions.

Disclaimer
Any languages offered besides English have not been formally validated; translations were generated via Google Translate and reviewed by community members.
What data is collected? How is it scored?
The following variables are recorded:

• FHT_reaction_time_house: Mean reaction time (ms) for correct responses on house trials — higher values indicate slower processing of houses.
• FHT_reaction_time_face: Mean reaction time (ms) for correct responses on face trials — higher values indicate slower processing of faces.
• FHT_correct_response_proportion_house: Proportion of correct responses on house trials — higher values indicate greater accuracy for houses.
• FHT_correct_response_proportion_face: Proportion of correct responses on face trials — higher values indicate greater accuracy for faces.

Raw data: Trial‑level reaction times (ms) and binary accuracy (correct/incorrect) for each trial, aggregated by condition.

Calculation:
Subscores are determined by averaging reaction times for correct trials and computing accuracy proportions for each condition:

• FHT_reaction_time_house: Average reaction time of all correct house trials.
• FHT_reaction_time_face: Average reaction time of all correct face trials.
• FHT_correct_response_proportion_house: (Number of correct house trials ÷ Total house trials) × 100.
• FHT_correct_response_proportion_face: (Number of correct face trials ÷ Total face trials) × 100.

Note: Time‑out trials count as incorrect and are excluded from reaction time calculations.