scholarly journals The Proficiency for Distinguishing Faces is Independent of the Proficiency for Remembering Them

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catrina Hacker ◽  
Irving Biederman
Keyword(s):  
Face Recognition ◽  
Face Perception ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Quantitative Measure ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
Perceptual Discrimination ◽  
Face Memory ◽  
Match To Sample ◽  
Perceptual Difficulty ◽  
Face Similarity

Tests of face recognition implicitly assume it to be an undifferentiated ability. However, several possible independent components could comprise face recognition proficiency, such as those for the perceptual discrimination of faces, face memory, and the ability to generalize across viewpoints. We assessed two possible components of face recognition ability: the proficiency for the perceptual discrimination of faces using a quantitative measure of face similarity and the proficiency for remembering those faces using a minimal delayed match-to-sample task. We document a strong cost of delay on error rates and mean correct reaction times in face matching. We further demonstrate that the slope of performance over increased perceptual difficulty is parallel for each of three levels of delay. These results provide evidence, by additive factors logic, that face memory and face perception are independent processes within subjects. Finally, we document an independence of the proficiencies for face memory and face perception across subjects.

scholarly journals Face Perception Deficits in Developmental Prosopagnosia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Ella Macaskill
Keyword(s):  
Face Recognition ◽  
Face Perception ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Memory Deficits ◽  
Face Memory ◽  
The Face ◽  
Component Processes ◽  
Severe Difficulty ◽  
Scale Experiment

<p>Face recognition is a fundamental cognitive function that is essential for social interaction – yet not everyone has it. Developmental prosopagnosia is a lifelong condition in which people have severe difficulty recognising faces but have normal intellect and no brain damage. Despite much research, the component processes of face recognition that are impaired in developmental prosopagnosia are not well understood. Two core processes are face perception, being the formation of visual representations of a currently seen face, and face memory, being the storage, maintenance, and retrieval of those representations. Most studies of developmental prosopagnosia focus on face memory deficits, but a few recent studies indicate that face perception deficits might also be important. Characterising face perception in developmental prosopagnosia is crucial for a better understanding of the condition. In this thesis, I addressed this issue in a large-scale experiment with 108 developmental prosopagnosics and 136 matched controls. I assessed face perception abilities with multiple measures and ran a broad range of analyses to establish the severity, scope, and nature of face perception deficits in developmental prosopagnosia. Three major results stand out. First, face perception deficits in developmental prosopagnosia were severe, and could be comparable in size to face memory deficits. Second, the face perception deficits were widespread, affecting the whole sample rather than a subset of individuals. Third, the deficits were mainly driven by impairments to mechanisms specialised for processing upright faces. Further analyses revealed several other features of the deficits, including the use of atypical and inconsistent strategies for perceiving faces, difficulties matching the same face across different pictures, equivalent impact of lighting and viewpoint variations in face images, and atypical perceptual and non-perceptual components of test performance. Overall, my thesis shows that face perception deficits are more central to developmental prosopagnosia than previously thought and motivates further research on the issue.</p>

scholarly journals Objective Patterns of Face Recognition Deficits in 165 Adults with Self-Reported Developmental Prosopagnosia

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Bate ◽  
Rachel J. Bennetts ◽  
Nicola Gregory ◽  
Jeremy J. Tree ◽  
Ebony Murray ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Face Recognition ◽  
Face Perception ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Severe Form ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Face Memory ◽  
Familiar Face ◽  
Unfamiliar Face ◽  
Prevalent Form

In the last 15 years, increasing numbers of individuals have self-referred to research laboratories in the belief that they experience severe everyday difficulties with face recognition. The condition “developmental prosopagnosia” (DP) is typically diagnosed when impairment is identified on at least two objective face-processing tests, usually involving assessments of face perception, unfamiliar face memory, and famous face recognition. While existing evidence suggests that some individuals may have a mnemonic form of prosopagnosia, it is also possible that other subtypes exist. The current study assessed 165 adults who believe they experience DP, and 38% of the sample were impaired on at least two of the tests outlined above. While statistical dissociations between face perception and face memory were only observed in four cases, a further 25% of the sample displayed dissociations between impaired famous face recognition and intact short-term unfamiliar face memory and face perception. We discuss whether this pattern of findings reflects (a) limitations within dominant diagnostic tests and protocols, (b) a less severe form of DP, or (c) a currently unrecognized but prevalent form of the condition that affects long-term face memory, familiar face recognition or semantic processing.

On the Relative Salience of Euclidean, Affine, and Topological Structure for 3-D Form Discrimination

Perception ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
James T Todd ◽  
Lin Chen ◽  
J Farley Norman
Keyword(s):  
Topological Structure ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
Form Discrimination ◽  
Line Segments ◽  
Match To Sample ◽  
Perceptual Salience ◽  
Object Properties ◽  
Relative Salience

A match-to-sample task was performed, in which observers compared configurations of line segments presented stereoscopically in different three-dimensional orientations. Several different structural properties of these configurations were manipulated, including the relative orientations of line segments (a Euclidean property), their coplanarity (an affine property), and their patterns of cointersection (a topological property). Although the differences in these properties to be detected were all metrically equivalent, they varied dramatically in their relative perceptual salience, such that the error rates and reaction times in the three conditions varied by as much as 400%. Performance was highest in the topological condition, intermediate in the affine condition, and lowest in the Euclidean condition. These findings suggest that the relative perceptual salience of object properties may be systematically related to their structural stability under change, in a manner that is similar to the Klein hierarchy of geometries.

Adults’ Markers of Face Processing Are Present at Age 6 and Are Interconnected Along Development

Perception ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (10-11) ◽  
pp. 1002-1028 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elite Mardo ◽  
Galia Avidan ◽  
Bat-Sheva Hadad
Keyword(s):  
Face Recognition ◽  
Face Perception ◽  
Face Processing ◽  
General Factor ◽  
Specific Marker ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Face Memory ◽  
Perceptual Skills ◽  
Domain Specific

Recent studies on the development of face processing argue for a late, quantitative, domain-specific development of face processing, and face memory in particular. Most previous findings were based on separately tracking the developmental course of face perception skills, comparing performance across different age groups. Here, we adopted a different approach studying the mechanisms underlying the development of face processing by focusing on how different face skills are interrelated over the years (age 6 to adulthood). Specifically, we examined correlations within and between different categories of tasks: face domain-specific skills involving face recognition based on long-term representations (famous face), and short-term memory retention (Cambridge Face Memory Test), perceptual face-specific marker (inversion effect), global effects in scene perception (global–local task), and the perception of facial expressions. Factor analysis revealed that face identity skills have a similar pattern of interrelations throughout development, identifying two factors: a face domain-specific factor comprising adultlike markers of face processing and a general factor incorporating related, but nonspecific perceptual skills. Domain-specific age-related changes in face recognition entailing short- and long-term retention of face representations were observed, along with mature perceptual face-specific markers and more general perceptual effects predicting face perception skills already at age 6. The results suggest that the domain-specific changes in face processing are unlikely to result from developmental changes in perceptual skills driving face recognition. Instead, development may either involve improvement in the ability to retain face representations in memory or changes in the interactions between the perceptual representations of faces and their representations in long-term memory.

scholarly journals Influence of Perceptual Discriminability and Spatial Distance on Holistic Processing of Faces

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao-Chih Wang ◽  
Gary C.-W. Shyi ◽  
Peter Kuan-Hao Cheng
Keyword(s):  
Face Recognition ◽  
Face Perception ◽  
Spatial Perception ◽  
Holistic Processing ◽  
Spatial Distance ◽  
Perceptual Discrimination ◽  
The Face ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Composite Face ◽  
Face Task

Background: Holistic processing is defined as the perceptual integration of facial features, and plays an important role in face recognition. While researchers recognize the crucial role played by holistic processing in face perception, a complete delineation of the underlying mechanisms is impending. Very few studies have examined the effects of perceptual discrimination and spatial perception on holistic processing. Hence, the present study aimed to examine the influence of perceptual discrimination and spatial perception on face recognition.Methods: We conducted two experiments by manipulating the perceptual discriminability of the target (the top-half faces) and non-target face (the bottom-half faces) parts in the composite-face task and examined how perceptual discriminability may affect holistic processing of faces.Results: The results of Experiment 1 illustrated that holistic processing was modulated by the perceptual discriminability of the face. Furthermore, differential patterns of perceptual discriminability with the target and non-target parts suggested that different mechanisms may be responsible for the influence of target and non-target parts on face perception. The results of Experiment 2 illustrated that holistic processing was modulated by spatial distance between two faces, implicating that feature-by-feature strategy might decrease the magnitude of holistic processing.Conclusion: The results of the present study suggest that holistic processing may lead to augmented perception effect exaggerating the differences between the two faces and may also be affected by the feature-by-feature strategy.

scholarly journals Face Memory and Face Perception in Autism

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirta Stantic ◽  
Eri Ichijo ◽  
Caroline Catmur ◽  
Geoff Bird
Keyword(s):  
Face Recognition ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Small Group ◽  
Face Perception ◽  
Standard Test ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Adults With Autism ◽  
Face Memory ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Autistic Adults

AbstractIt has been argued that autistic individuals have difficulties with face memory but typical face perception. However, only one previous study has examined both face memory and face perception in the same individuals, and this study was conducted with a small group of autistic children. Here face recognition was examined with a group of autistic adults using two face perception tasks (including one designed to avoid a neurotypical bias), and a standard test of face memory. Self-reported face recognition difficulties in everyday life were also recorded. The group of adults with autism scored lower than a matched neurotypical control group on all face tasks, and reported more problems with face recognition in everyday life. On the whole results suggest difficulties with both face perception and face memory in autistic adults, although it should be noted that a wide range of scores were recorded from the autistic individuals, with some scoring in the neurotypical range.

scholarly journals Face Perception Deficits in Developmental Prosopagnosia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ella Macaskill
Keyword(s):  
Face Recognition ◽  
Face Perception ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Memory Deficits ◽  
Face Memory ◽  
The Face ◽  
Component Processes ◽  
Severe Difficulty ◽  
Scale Experiment

<p>Face recognition is a fundamental cognitive function that is essential for social interaction – yet not everyone has it. Developmental prosopagnosia is a lifelong condition in which people have severe difficulty recognising faces but have normal intellect and no brain damage. Despite much research, the component processes of face recognition that are impaired in developmental prosopagnosia are not well understood. Two core processes are face perception, being the formation of visual representations of a currently seen face, and face memory, being the storage, maintenance, and retrieval of those representations. Most studies of developmental prosopagnosia focus on face memory deficits, but a few recent studies indicate that face perception deficits might also be important. Characterising face perception in developmental prosopagnosia is crucial for a better understanding of the condition. In this thesis, I addressed this issue in a large-scale experiment with 108 developmental prosopagnosics and 136 matched controls. I assessed face perception abilities with multiple measures and ran a broad range of analyses to establish the severity, scope, and nature of face perception deficits in developmental prosopagnosia. Three major results stand out. First, face perception deficits in developmental prosopagnosia were severe, and could be comparable in size to face memory deficits. Second, the face perception deficits were widespread, affecting the whole sample rather than a subset of individuals. Third, the deficits were mainly driven by impairments to mechanisms specialised for processing upright faces. Further analyses revealed several other features of the deficits, including the use of atypical and inconsistent strategies for perceiving faces, difficulties matching the same face across different pictures, equivalent impact of lighting and viewpoint variations in face images, and atypical perceptual and non-perceptual components of test performance. Overall, my thesis shows that face perception deficits are more central to developmental prosopagnosia than previously thought and motivates further research on the issue.</p>

scholarly journals Face memory and face perception in autism

Autism ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 136236132110276
Author(s):  
Mirta Stantić ◽  
Eri Ichijo ◽  
Caroline Catmur ◽  
Geoffrey Bird
Keyword(s):  
Face Recognition ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Small Group ◽  
Face Perception ◽  
Standard Test ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Adults With Autism ◽  
Face Memory ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Autistic Adults

It has been argued that autistic individuals have difficulties with face memory but typical face perception. However, only one previous study has examined both face memory and face perception in the same individuals, and this study was conducted with a small group of autistic children. Here, face recognition was examined with a group of autistic adults using two face perception tasks (including one designed to avoid a neurotypical bias) and a standard test of face memory. Self-reported face recognition difficulties in everyday life were also recorded. The group of adults with autism scored lower than a matched neurotypical control group on all face tasks and reported more problems with face recognition in everyday life. On the whole, results suggest difficulties with both face perception and face memory in autistic adults, although it should be noted that a wide range of scores were recorded from the autistic individuals, with some scoring in the neurotypical range. Lay abstract It is well known that some people with autism have difficulties recognizing faces. It is generally thought that this is not because autistic individuals cannot perceive faces, but because autistic individuals have greater problems than people without autism in remembering faces. Here, we worked with a group of autistic adults and a group of non-autistic adults to test their ability to perceive and remember faces. We also asked each person to report any difficulties that they have with recognizing faces in everyday life. We find that, as a group, people with autism have difficulties with both remembering and perceiving faces, and report more problems recognizing faces in everyday life. However, it is worth noting that we observed a wide range of scores in the group of people with autism, with some autistic participants scoring as well as the group of people without autism.

Can Face Recognition Really be Dissociated from Object Recognition?

1999 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 349-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel Gauthier ◽  
Marlene Behrmann ◽  
Michael J. Tarr
Keyword(s):  
Face Recognition ◽  
Object Recognition ◽  
Signal Detection ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Stimulus Presentation ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
Match To Sample ◽  
Neuropsychological Evidence ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Normal Controls

We argue that the current literature on prosopagnosia fails to demonstrate unequivocal evidence for a disproportionate impairment for faces as compared to nonface objects. Two prosopagnosic subjects were tested for the discrimination of objects from several categories (face as well as nonface) at different levels of categorization (basic, subordinate, and exemplar levels). Several dependent measures were obtained including accuracy, signal detection measures, and response times. The results from Experiments 1 to 4 demonstrate that, in simultaneous-matching tasks, response times may reveal impairments with nonface objects in subjects whose error rates only indicate a face deficit. The results from Experiments 5 and 6 show that, given limited stimulus presentation times for face and nonface objects, the same subjects may demonstrate a deªcit for both stimulus categories in sensitivity. In Experiments 7, 8 and 9, a match-to-sample task that places greater demands on memory led to comparable recognition sensitivity with both face and nonface objects. Regardless of object category, the prosopagnosic subjects were more affected by manipulations of the level of categorization than normal controls. This result raises questions regarding neuropsychological evidence for the modularity of face recognition, as well as its theoretical and methodological foundations.

Comparing the sensitivity of face matching assessments to detect face perception deficits

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maruti Mishra ◽  
Regan Fry ◽  
Elyana Saad ◽  
Joseph Arizpe ◽  
Yuri-Grace Ohashi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Face Recognition ◽  
Recognition Memory ◽  
Face Perception ◽  
Group Membership ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Memory Test ◽  
Control Group ◽  
University Of Southern California ◽  
Face Memory ◽  
Information Research

Numerous neurological, developmental, and psychiatric conditions demonstrate impaired face recognition abilities, which can be socially debilitating. These impairments could be caused by either deficient face perceptual processes, such as reduced ability to integrate face parts into a whole, or deficient face memory processes, such as reduced ability to associate a face with semantic information. Research and clinical practice have focused more on developing face memory assessments, while it currently remains unclear which face perception assessments best captures perceptual deficits. A validated face perception measure could not only help with diagnosing the causes of face recognition deficits but could also help determine the most appropriate treatment. Here, we compare several available face perception assessments to identify those that can best assess perception deficits in developmental prosopagnosics. Thirty prosopagnosics and thirty age-matched neurotypical controls completed a battery of four face perception assessments, namely, computerized Benton Face Recognition Test, Cambridge Face Perception Test, University of Southern California Face Perception Test, and Telling Faces Together Test. They were also evaluated on two face recognition/ memory measures- Cambridge face memory test and famous faces memory test. We used logistic regression for the perception tests to predict prosopagnosic vs. control group membership and used multiple linear regressions to predict continuous objective and subjective measures of face recognition memory. Our results show that the Benton face test was the most reliable (α = 0.74), sensitive (AUC= 0.83), and predictive assessment of prosopagnosia diagnosis and face memory performance across the groups. The Cambridge face perception test also performed adequately well in terms of test sensitivity (AUC=0.80) and predicted face memory performance across the groups. Further, we found that face lighting change trials better predicted DP group membership and face recognition abilities than viewpoint-change trials. Together, these results have direct clinical application in assessing populations with face processing difficulties.

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