Abstract
ABSTRACTThere is a view that faces and objects are processed by different brain mechanisms. Different factors may modulate the extent to which face mechanisms are used for objects. To distinguish these factors, we present a new parametric multipart three-dimensional object set that provides researchers with a rich degree of control of important features for visual recognition such as individual parts and the spatial configuration of those parts. All other properties being equal, we demonstrate that perceived facelikeness in terms of spatial configuration facilitated performance at matching individual exemplars of the new object set across viewpoint changes (Experiment 1). Importantly, facelikeness did not affect perceptual discriminability (Experiment 2) or similarity (Experiment 3). Our findings suggest that perceptual resemblance to faces based on spatial configuration of parts is important for visual recognition even after equating physical and perceptual similarity. Furthermore, the large parametrically controlled object set and the standardized procedures to generate additional exemplars will provide the research community with invaluable tools to further understand visual recognition and visual learning.
Highlights
There is a long standing view that the adult human brain processes faces with neural mechanisms that are different from those which process other objects
Human adults can spontaneously see faces in everyday objects predominantly by virtue of features arranged into a spatial configuration that can be mistaken for facial parts such as eyes, nose and mouth; as in face pareidolia
A set of stimuli composed of three rounded parts—a base, body, and head—one on top of the other, with protrusions that are readily labelled penis, nose, and ears. These rounded, bilaterally symmetrical creatures closely resembled humanoid characters. This characteristic of the stimuli is termed unfortunate because even if face- or body-like results were obtained from the training, it would be unclear whether the stimuli engaged face or body processing because of their physical resemblance to people. (Biederman & Kalocsai, 1997, p. 1205; italics added)
Summary
There is a long standing view that the adult human brain processes faces with neural mechanisms that are different from those which process other objects (see reviews and arguments in Biederman & Kalocsai, 1997; Ellis & Young, 1989; Farah, Wilson, Drain, & Tanaka, 1998; Kanwisher, 2000; McKone & Robbins, 2011; Nachson, 1995). According to this similarity-based view, other objects that have these constraints will recruit the same mechanisms used to process faces (Faust, 1955; see Damasio, Damasio, & Van Hoesen, 1982; Gauthier, Behrmann, & Tarr, 1999a, for more recent evidence and a clear articulation of this view) This view can be traced to the early neuropsychological observation of brain-damaged individuals with prosopagnosia who had difficulties differentiating various exemplars of chairs for instance (Faust, 1955; see Bornstein, 1963; Clarke, Lindemann, Maeder, Borruat, & Assal, 1997; Cole & Perez Cruet, 1964; De Renzi, Faglioni, & Spinnler, 1968). The reason for this gap in knowledge is the lack of an appropriate object set to manipulate these factors
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