The animacy detectors: The embeddedness of animacy perception

Animacy perception refers to the capacity of individuals to detect life-like properties in objects through both static and dynamic cues. The prevailing "life detector" hypothesis emphasizes non-configural local dynamic cues but is limited by conceptual ambiguity and an inability to account for static cues such as those conveyed by faces. To address these limitations, the authors propose the embedded "animacy detector" hypothesis, which integrates static and dynamic cues and posits that animacy detection functions as a core module embedded within the social cognitive system, characterized by innateness, domain specificity, functional embeddedness, and plasticity. They further synthesize developmental, comparative, individual, and environmental evidence in support of this framework.