Burton, A Mike orcid.org/0000-0002-2035-2084, Schweinberger, Stefan R, Jenkins, Rob orcid.org/0000-0003-4793-0435 et al. (1 more author) (2015) Arguments Against a Configural Processing Account of Familiar Face Recognition. Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. pp. 482-496. ISSN 1745-6924
Abstract
Face recognition is a remarkable human ability, which underlies a great deal of people's social behavior. Individuals can recognize family members, friends, and acquaintances over a very large range of conditions, and yet the processes by which they do this remain poorly understood, despite decades of research. Although a detailed understanding remains elusive, face recognition is widely thought to rely on configural processing, specifically an analysis of spatial relations between facial features (so-called second-order configurations). In this article, we challenge this traditional view, raising four problems: (1) configural theories are underspecified; (2) large configural changes leave recognition unharmed; (3) recognition is harmed by nonconfigural changes; and (4) in separate analyses of face shape and face texture, identification tends to be dominated by texture. We review evidence from a variety of sources and suggest that failure to acknowledge the impact of familiarity on facial representations may have led to an overgeneralization of the configural account. We argue instead that second-order configural information is remarkably unimportant for familiar face recognition.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s) 2015. This is an author produced version of a paper published in Perspectives on Psychological Science. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Psychology (York) |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 07 Oct 2015 12:17 |
Last Modified: | 16 Oct 2024 12:38 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691615583129 |
Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1177/1745691615583129 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:88565 |