scholarly journals The Oxford Face Matching Test: A non-biased test of the full range of individual differences in face perception

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirta Stantic ◽  
Rebecca Brewer ◽  
Bradley Duchaine ◽  
Michael J. Banissy ◽  
Sarah Bate ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Face Perception ◽  
Face Processing ◽  
Item Difficulty ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Face Memory ◽  
Face Matching ◽  
Matching Test ◽  
Processing Abilities

AbstractTests of face processing are typically designed to identify individuals performing outside of the typical range; either prosopagnosic individuals who exhibit poor face processing ability, or super recognisers, who have superior face processing abilities. Here we describe the development of the Oxford Face Matching Test (OFMT), designed to identify individual differences in face processing across the full range of performance, from prosopagnosia, through the range of typical performance, to super recognisers. Such a test requires items of varying difficulty, but establishing difficulty is problematic when particular populations (e.g., prosopagnosics, individuals with autism spectrum disorder) may use atypical strategies to process faces. If item difficulty is calibrated on neurotypical individuals, then the test may be poorly calibrated for atypical groups, and vice versa. To obtain items of varying difficulty, we used facial recognition algorithms to obtain face pair similarity ratings that are not biased towards specific populations. These face pairs were used as stimuli in the OFMT, and participants were required to judge whether the face images depicted the same individual or different individuals. Across five studies the OFMT was shown to be sensitive to individual differences in the typical population, and in groups of both prosopagnosic individuals and super recognisers. The test-retest reliability of the task was at least equivalent to the Cambridge Face Memory Test and the Glasgow Face Matching Test. Furthermore, results reveal, at least at the group level, that both face perception and face memory are poor in those with prosopagnosia, and are good in super recognisers.

scholarly journals The Oxford Face Matching Test: A Non-Biased Test of The Full Range of Individual Differences in Face Perception

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirta Stantic ◽  
Rebecca Brewer ◽  
Brad Duchaine ◽  
Michael J. Banissy ◽  
Sarah Bate ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Face Perception ◽  
Face Processing ◽  
Item Difficulty ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Face Memory ◽  
Face Matching ◽  
Matching Test ◽  
Processing Abilities

Tests of face processing are typically designed to identify individuals performing outside of the typical range; either prosopagnosic individuals who exhibit poor face processing ability, or super recognisers, who have superior face processing abilities. Here we describe the development of the Oxford Face Matching Test (OFMT), designed to identify individual differences in face processing across the full range of performance, from prosopagnosia, through the range of typical performance, to super recognisers. Such a test requires items of varying difficulty, but establishing difficulty is problematic when particular populations (e.g. prosopagnosics, individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder) may use atypical strategies to process faces. If item difficulty is calibrated on neurotypical individuals, then the test may be poorly calibrated for atypical groups, and vice versa. To obtain items of varying difficulty we used facial recognition algorithms to obtain face pair similarity ratings that are not biased towards specific populations. These face pairs were used as stimuli in the OFMT, and participants required to judge if the face images depicted the same individual or different individuals. Across five studies the OFMT was shown to be sensitive to individual differences in the typical population, and in groups of both prosopagnosic individuals and super recognisers. The test-retest reliability of the task was at least equivalent to the Cambridge Face Memory Test and the Glasgow Face Matching Test. Furthermore, results reveal, at least at the group level, that both face perception and face memory are poor in those with prosopagnosia, and good in super recognisers.

scholarly journals Use of the Oxford Face Matching Test Reveals an Effect of Ageing On Face Perception But Not Face Memory

Cortex ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirta Stantić ◽  
Bethan Hearne ◽  
Caroline Catmur ◽  
Geoffrey Bird
Keyword(s):  
Face Perception ◽  
Face Memory ◽  
Face Matching ◽  
Matching Test

scholarly journals Individual differences in face perception: Development and validation of the Oxford Face Matching Test (OFMT)

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (9) ◽  
pp. 2664
Author(s):  
Mirta Stantic ◽  
Rebecca Brewer ◽  
Bradley Duchaine ◽  
Michael Banissy ◽  
Sarah Bate ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Face Perception ◽  
Face Matching ◽  
Matching Test ◽  
Development And Validation ◽  
Perception Development

scholarly journals Use of the Oxford Face Matching Test Reveals an Effect of Ageing on Face Perception but Not Face Memory.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirta Stantic ◽  
Geoffrey Bird ◽  
Caroline Catmur ◽  
Bethan Hearne
Keyword(s):  
Face Perception ◽  
Standard Test ◽  
Age And Gender ◽  
Face Memory ◽  
Face Matching ◽  
Matching Test ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Effect Of Age

Effects of ageing on both face perception and face memory have previously been reported. Previous studies, however, have not controlled for the effects of face perception when assessing face memory, meaning that apparent effects of ageing on face memory may actually be due to effects of ageing on face perception. Here, both face perception and face memory were assessed in a sample of adults ranging in age from 18 to 93, and the effect of age on face memory was assessed after controlling for face perception. Face perception was assessed using both a standard test and the Oxford Face Matching Test (OFMT), deliberately designed to avoid the bias towards younger, neurotypical samples that may be present in other tests. An effect of ageing on face perception was found using both tests, with the unbiased OFMT being more sensitive to the effect of age. Importantly, when controlling for face perception using the OFMT, no effect of age on face memory was found. Indicative scores on the OFMT from a sample of 989 participants are provided, broken down by age and gender.

scholarly journals Measurement of individual differences in face-identity processing abilities in older adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabelle Boutet ◽  
Bozana Meinhardt-Injac
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Face Processing ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Matching Task ◽  
Face Memory ◽  
Face Identity ◽  
Face Matching ◽  
Processing Abilities ◽  
Identity Processing

Abstract Background Face-identity processing declines with age. Few studies have examined whether face-identity processing abilities can be measured independently from general cognitive abilities in older adults (OA). This question has practical implications for the assessment of face-identity processing abilities in OA and theoretical implications for the notion of face processing as a specific ability. The present study examined the specificity of face memory and face matching abilities in OA aged 50 + . Methods Performance of younger adults (YA) and OA was measured on face tasks: Cambridge Face Memory Task (CFMT), the Glasgow Face Matching Task (GFMT), holistic processing; and tasks of general cognition: fluid intelligence, selective attention, and mental rotation. Data were analyzed using multiple regression models encompassing (i) the CFMT/GFMT and measures of general cognition; and (ii) all face processing tasks. Results Across the two age groups, models encompassing all face tasks were significant and accounted for more variance in the data than models encompassing the CFMT/GFMT and measures of general cognition. General cognitive abilities accounted for 17% of variance for the GFMT (p < 0.01) and 3% for the CFMT (p > 0.05). Discussion Our results suggest that face memory can be measured independently from general cognition using the CFMT in OA. Implications for the notion of a general face processing factor across the adult lifespan are discussed.

scholarly journals The COVID-19 pandemic masks the way people perceive faces

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erez Freud ◽  
Andreja Stajduhar ◽  
R. Shayna Rosenbaum ◽  
Galia Avidan ◽  
Tzvi Ganel
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Face Perception ◽  
Face Processing ◽  
Qualitative Change ◽  
Daily Activities ◽  
Human Face ◽  
Human Face Recognition ◽  
Processing Abilities ◽  
Partially Occluded ◽  
The Way

AbstractThe unprecedented efforts to minimize the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic introduce a new arena for human face recognition in which faces are partially occluded with masks. Here, we tested the extent to which face masks change the way faces are perceived. To this end, we evaluated face processing abilities for masked and unmasked faces in a large online sample of adult observers (n = 496) using an adapted version of the Cambridge Face Memory Test, a validated measure of face perception abilities in humans. As expected, a substantial decrease in performance was found for masked faces. Importantly, the inclusion of masks also led to a qualitative change in the way masked faces are perceived. In particular, holistic processing, the hallmark of face perception, was disrupted for faces with masks, as suggested by a reduced inversion effect. Similar changes were found whether masks were included during the study or the test phases of the experiment. Together, we provide novel evidence for quantitative and qualitative alterations in the processing of masked faces that could have significant effects on daily activities and social interactions.

Individual Differences in Intrinsic Brain Networks Predict Symptom Severity in Autism Spectrum Disorders

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 681-693 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Peng Kiat Pua ◽  
Phoebe Thomson ◽  
Joseph Yuan-Mou Yang ◽  
Jeffrey M Craig ◽  
Gareth Ball ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Face Perception ◽  
Symptom Severity ◽  
Brain Networks ◽  
Monozygotic Twins ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Social Impairment ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Spectrum Disorders

Abstract The neurobiology of heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is still unknown. We hypothesized that differences in subject-level properties of intrinsic brain networks were important features that could predict individual variation in ASD symptom severity. We matched cases and controls from a large multicohort ASD dataset (ABIDE-II) on age, sex, IQ, and image acquisition site. Subjects were matched at the individual level (rather than at group level) to improve homogeneity within matched case–control pairs (ASD: n = 100, mean age = 11.43 years, IQ = 110.58; controls: n = 100, mean age = 11.43 years, IQ = 110.70). Using task-free functional magnetic resonance imaging, we extracted intrinsic functional brain networks using projective non-negative matrix factorization. Intrapair differences in strength in subnetworks related to the salience network (SN) and the occipital-temporal face perception network were robustly associated with individual differences in social impairment severity (T = 2.206, P = 0.0301). Findings were further replicated and validated in an independent validation cohort of monozygotic twins (n = 12; 3 pairs concordant and 3 pairs discordant for ASD). Individual differences in the SN and face-perception network are centrally implicated in the neural mechanisms of social deficits related to ASD.

scholarly journals Orientation-invariance of individual differences in three face processing tasks

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 181350
Author(s):  
G. Meinhardt ◽  
B. Meinhardt-Injac ◽  
M. Persike
Keyword(s):  
Face Recognition ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Selective Attention ◽  
Face Perception ◽  
Face Processing ◽  
Common Factor ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Common Variance ◽  
Strong Inversion ◽  
Orientation Invariance

Numerous studies have reported impairments in perception and recognition, and, particularly, in part-integration of faces following picture-plane inversion. Whether these findings support the notion that inversion changes face processing qualitatively remains a topic of debate. To examine whether associations and dissociations of the human face processing ability depend on stimulus orientation, we measured face recognition with the Cambridge Face Memory Test (CFMT), along with experimental tests of face perception and selective attention to faces and non-face objects in a sample of 314 participants. Results showed strong inversion effects for all face-related tasks, and modest ones for non-face objects. Individual differences analysis revealed that the CFMT shared common variance with face perception and face-selective attention, however, independent of orientation. Regardless of whether predictor and criterion had same or different orientation, face recognition was best predicted by the same test battery. Principal component decomposition revealed a common factor for face recognition and face perception, a second common factor for face recognition and face-selective attention, and two unique factors. The patterns of factor loadings were nearly identical for upright and inverted presentation. These results indicate orientation-invariance of common variance in three domains of face processing. Since inversion impaired performance, but did not affect domain-related associations and dissociations, the findings suggest process-specific but orientation-general mechanisms. Specific limitations by constraints of individual differences analysis and test selection are discussed.

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.

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