Holistic processing unites face parts across time

When complementary halves of different familiar faces are combined into a new face, there is interference in the identification of either half. This “composite face effect” has been taken as strong evidence that faces are processed holistically. Here, we demonstrate that this effect can persist when...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Vision research (Oxford) 2006-05, Vol.46 (11), p.1838-1847
Main Authors: Singer, J.M., Sheinberg, D.L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Biological and medical sciences
Configural processing
Face
Face perception
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Holistic processing
Humans
Male
Object recognition
Pattern Recognition, Visual - physiology
Perception
Perceptual Distortion - physiology
Photic Stimulation - methods
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Psychophysics
Reaction Time
Recognition (Psychology) - physiology
Temporal integration
Time Factors
Vision
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Summary:When complementary halves of different familiar faces are combined into a new face, there is interference in the identification of either half. This “composite face effect” has been taken as strong evidence that faces are processed holistically. Here, we demonstrate that this effect can persist when the two parts of a face are separated by up to 80 ms of visual noise, showing that the parts of a face interact not only spatially but also temporally. We suggest that the processing underlying robust identification accepts an accumulation of evidence over time.
ISSN:0042-6989
1878-5646
DOI:10.1016/j.visres.2005.11.005