Abstract
Previous research has established that humans are able to detect kinship among strangers from facial images alone. The current study investigated what facial information is used for making those kinship judgments, specifically the contribution of face shape and surface reflectance information (e.g., skin texture, tone, eye and eyebrow color). Using 3D facial images, 195 participants were asked to judge the relatedness of 100 child pairs, half of which were related and half of which were unrelated. Participants were randomly assigned to judge one of three stimulus versions: face images with both surface reflectance and shape information present (reflectance and shape version), face images with shape information removed but surface reflectance present (reflectance version), or face images with surface reflectance information removed but shape present (shape version). Using binomial logistic mixed models, we found that participants were able to detect relatedness at levels above chance for all three stimulus versions. Overall, both individual shape and surface reflectance information contribute to kinship detection, and both cues are optimally combined when presented together. Preprint, preregistration, code, and data are available on the Open Science Framework (osf.io/7ftxd).
Highlights
Numerous studies have found evidence for allocentric kin recognition, showing that individuals are able to detect relatedness when shown face images of people unknown to them (Alvergne, Perreau, Mazur, Mueller, & Raymond, 2014; Bressan & Dal Martello, 2002; Bressan & Grassi, 2004; Dal Martello, DeBruine, &Maloney, 2015; DeBruine et al, 2009; Maloney & Dal Martello, 2006; Nesse, Silverman, & Bortz, 1990)
In light of the fact that both shape and texture/tone cues have been implicated but not explicitly investigated in the allocentric kin recognition literature, the current study investigated the direct contribution of facial shape and surface reflectance information to kinship detection in a sample of 3D images
We found that third-party raters were able to reliably identify related and unrelated child sibling pairs, a robust finding across the literature (Alvergne, Perreau, Mazur, Mueller, & Raymond, 2014; Bressan & Dal Martello, 2002; Bressan & Grassi, 2004; Dal Martello et al, 2015; DeBruine et al, 2009; Maloney & Dal Martello, 2006)
Summary
Numerous studies have found evidence for allocentric kin recognition, showing that individuals are able to detect relatedness when shown face images of people unknown to them (Alvergne, Perreau, Mazur, Mueller, & Raymond, 2014; Bressan & Dal Martello, 2002; Bressan & Grassi, 2004; Dal Martello, DeBruine, &Maloney, 2015; DeBruine et al, 2009; Maloney & Dal Martello, 2006; Nesse, Silverman, & Bortz, 1990). Some of this research has found that different facial areas are important when making kinship judgments (Alvergne et al, 2014; Dal Martello & Maloney, 2006). Dal Martello et al.’s (2015) finding that facial inversion or rotation does not affect kinship judgments further supports this notion that featural, rather than configurational, information is important for kin judgments. This converging evidence suggests that face shape cues play an important role in kinship detection.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
