Experimental notes on the asymmetry of the human face.

McCurdy, Harold G.

doi:10.1037/h0062519

Cited by 34 publications

(14 citation statements)

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“…However, the right half of the face (on the observer's left) as well as the right-right composite were found to bear a greater resemblance to the original face than the left half and a left-left chimeric. These results were replicated by McCurdy (1949) and Lindzey et al (1952). Like Wolff, they attributed the phenomenon to features within the face.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Validity and temporal stability of the chimeric face technique for studying hemispheric processing asymmetries: Data from 6-through 14-year-old children

Roszkowski

Snelbecker

1982

Journal of Behavioral Assessment

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Validity and temporal stability of the chimeric face technique for studying hemispheric processing asymmetries: Data from 6-through 14-year-old children

Roszkowski

Snelbecker

1982

Journal of Behavioral Assessment

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“…Subjects were asked to judge which of the normal and mirror-reversed smiling faces looked happier. Because the side of the face appearing on the observer's left dominates what the face looks like (Gilbert & Bakan, 1973;Lindzey et al, 1952;McCurdy, 1949;Rhodes, 1985b;Wolff, 1933)4 and what emotion is perceived (Campbell, 1978;Heller & Levy, 1981), it was predicted that the smiling mirror-reversed faces, with the more expressive left hemiface on the observer's left, should look happier than the smiling normal faces.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They were asked whether the left or right composite was a better likeness of the person.i The left composite is considered a better likeness of the face in perceptual matching tasks where the normal photograph of an unfamiliar face is present (Gilbert & Bakan, 1973;Kolb, Milner,.& Taylor, 1983;Lindzey, Prince, & Wright, 1952;McCurdy, 1949;Rhodes, 1985b;Wolff, 1933). It is not clear whether this effect is due to direct access of the left half of the face to the right hemisphere (which assumes that the left halfface.'…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Memory for lateral asymmetries in well-known faces: Evidence for configural information in memory representations of Faces

Rhodes

1986

Memory & Cognition

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Two experiments were carried out to determine whether configural information about the left-right organization of a face is represented in memory. In Experiment 1, subjects consistently chose normal (correct) photographs as better likenesses of familiar faces than mirror-reversed photographs. This effect was stronger for more familiar faces, and did not depend on the presence of asymmetric hairstyles or single, asymmetrically located features (e.g., moles, warts). In Experiment 2, subjects were asked to decide which ofthe left and right composite faces was a better likeness of the person. The left composite is normally considered a better likeness in perceptual matching tasks where the normal photograph is present. Left composites were regarded as better likenesses than right composites, despite the fact that this bias appeared to compete with one in favor of the more realistic of the two composites. The results of Experiments 1 and 2 suggest that configural information about the left-right organization of faces is represented in memory. The right hemiface of a familiarface was considered more expressive than the left hemiface. This is opposite to the normal result for unfamiliar faces. The implications of the results for models of face representations and for future research directions are discussed.Despite the similarity of faces as visual patterns, we are able to discriminate between and remember many faces for long periods of time (Bahrick, Bahrick, & Wittlinger, 1975). Bahrick et al. showed that people could recognize pictures of classmates at a 90% correct performance level, independent of class size, for up to 35 years after graduation. Our ability to remember faces, often over an extended period of time, may be essentially unlimited under natural conditions of learning with repeated, long duration exposures to a face. Even a single, brief exposure may be sufficient to encode a face in memory. Faces signal identity and emotional state, both of which are important predictors of behavior. Therefore, there has probably been strong selection pressure for the ability to encode faces quickly and to remember them for long periods of time.Our capacity for encoding and remembering faces is not yet understood, and theories of facial representation are not well developed. Past research has emphasized the importance of individual features, such as the eyes, nose, and mouth, for discriminating between and remembering faces. Changing these features impairs discrimination and recognition performance (for a comprehensive review,

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“…However, the human face is not perfectly symmetrical (e.g., Bennett, Delmonico, & Bond, 1987;Carbary, Almierigi, & Harris, 1999;Gilbert & Bakan, 1973;Jordan & Thomas, 2007;Lindzey, Prince, & Wright, 1952;McCurdy, 1949;Seinen & Van der Werff, 1969;Wolff, 1933). Indeed, research measuring facial movements has revealed evidence of hemiface asymmetries in talkers' articulations, where the left side of the mouth (we refer to locations on the face as an observer sees them; e.g., left = left from an observer's point of view) opens sooner and wider during speaking, probably due to left hemisphere control over speech production (Graves, 1983;Graves, Goodglass, & Landis, 1982;Wolff, 1933;Wolf & Goodale, 1987).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

When half a face is as good as a whole: Effects of simple substantial occlusion on visual and audiovisual speech perception

Jordan

Thomas

2011

Atten Percept Psychophys

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The visible movement of a talker's face is an influential component of speech perception. However, the ability of this influence to function when large areas of the face (~50%) are covered by simple substantial occlusions, and so are not visible to the observer, has yet to be fully determined. In Experiment 1, both visual speech identification and the influence of visual speech on identifying congruent and incongruent auditory speech were investigated using displays of a whole (unoccluded) talking face and of the same face occluded vertically so that the entire left or right hemiface was covered. Both the identification of visual speech and its influence on auditory speech perception were identical across all three face displays. Experiment 2 replicated and extended these results, showing that visual and audiovisual speech perception also functioned well with other simple substantial occlusions (horizontal and diagonal). Indeed, displays in which entire upper facial areas were occluded produced performance levels equal to those obtained with unoccluded displays. Occluding entire lower facial areas elicited some impairments in performance, but visual speech perception and visual speech influences on auditory speech perception were still apparent. Finally, implications of these findings for understanding the processes supporting visual and audiovisual speech perception are discussed.

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Experimental notes on the asymmetry of the human face.

Cited by 34 publications

References 0 publications

Validity and temporal stability of the chimeric face technique for studying hemispheric processing asymmetries: Data from 6-through 14-year-old children

Validity and temporal stability of the chimeric face technique for studying hemispheric processing asymmetries: Data from 6-through 14-year-old children

Memory for lateral asymmetries in well-known faces: Evidence for configural information in memory representations of Faces

When half a face is as good as a whole: Effects of simple substantial occlusion on visual and audiovisual speech perception

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