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dc.contributor.authorLogan, Andrew J.*
dc.contributor.authorGordon, G.E.*
dc.contributor.authorLoffler, G.*
dc.date.accessioned2017-07-05T11:30:41Z
dc.date.available2017-07-05T11:30:41Z
dc.date.issued2017
dc.identifier.citationLogan AJ, Gordon GE and Loffler G (2017) Contributions of Individual Face Features to Face Discrimination. Vision Research. 137: 29-39.
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10454/12462
dc.descriptionYes
dc.description.abstractFaces are highly complex stimuli that contain a host of information. Such complexity poses the following questions: (a) do observers exhibit preferences for specific information? (b) how does sensitivity to individual face parts compare? These questions were addressed by quantifying sensitivity to different face features. Discrimination thresholds were determined for synthetic faces under the following conditions: (i) ‘full face’: all face features visible; (ii) ‘isolated feature’: single feature presented in isolation; (iii) ‘embedded feature’: all features visible, but only one feature modified. Mean threshold elevations for isolated features, relative to full-faces, were 0.84x, 1.08, 2.12, 3.34, 4.07 and 4.47 for head-shape, hairline, nose, mouth, eyes and eyebrows respectively. Hence, when two full faces can be discriminated at threshold, the difference between the eyes is about four times less than what is required when discriminating between isolated eyes. In all cases, sensitivity was higher when features were presented in isolation than when they were embedded within a face context (threshold elevations of 0.94x, 1.74, 2.67, 2.90, 5.94 and 9.94). This reveals a specific pattern of sensitivity to face information. Observers are between two and four times more sensitive to external than internal features. The pattern for internal features (higher sensitivity for the nose, compared to mouth, eyes and eyebrows) is consistent with lower sensitivity for those parts affected by facial dynamics (e.g. facial expressions). That isolated features are easier to discriminate than embedded features supports a holistic face processing mechanism which impedes extraction of information about individual features from full faces.
dc.language.isoen
dc.rights© 2017 Elsevier. Reproduced in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.
dc.subjectFace perception
dc.subjectPsychophysics
dc.subjectUnfamiliar faces
dc.subjectFace features
dc.subjectDiscrimination
dc.subjectHolistic
dc.titleContributions of Individual Face Features to Face Discrimination
dc.status.refereedYes
dc.typeArticle
dc.type.versionAccepted manuscript
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.visres.2017.05.011
dc.rights.licenseCC-BY-NC-ND
refterms.dateFOA2018-07-20T13:56:05Z
dc.openaccess.statusopenAccess
dc.date.accepted2017-05-06


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