W10 - Faces

Question 1

Why are faces considered “special” in human perception?

Answer 1

Because we rely heavily on configural processing for recognising faces and can detect them even in unrelated objects (pareidolia).

Question 2

What are the two major dimensions of face processing?

Answer 2

Identity (who the person is) and Expression (what emotion they are displaying).

Question 3

What is pareidolia?

Answer 3

The tendency to perceive faces in unrelated objects due to our brain’s face-detection mechanisms.

Question 4

Which brain areas drive pareidolia?

Answer 4

The left and right fusiform gyri.

Question 5

What did Johnson et al. (1991) find about newborn face preference?

Answer 5

Newborns prefer face-like stimuli over scrambled faces and blanks.

Question 6

What did Pascalis et al. (2002) discover about infant face discrimination?

Answer 6

At 6 months: can distinguish human and monkey faces. At 9 months: specialised for human faces—lose monkey face discrimination.

Question 7

What does infant face processing suggest about development?

Answer 7

Face recognition starts broadly and becomes specialised through experience.

Question 8

What is configural processing?

Answer 8

Recognising faces based on the spatial arrangement of features rather than the features themselves.

Question 9

How does feature-based recognition differ from configural processing?

Answer 9

Feature recognition works even when faces are inverted; configural processing is sensitive to orientation.

Question 10

What artistic example illustrates the dominance of configuration?

Answer 10

Giuseppe Arcimboldo’s paintings—objects arranged to resemble faces.

Question 11

What is the face inversion effect?

Answer 11

Face recognition becomes dramatically worse when faces are upside-down due to disruption of configural processing.

Question 12

What are composite face experiments and what do they show?

Answer 12

Faces made from two different halves; recognition is impaired when halves are misaligned—shows configural processing is crucial for identity.

Question 13

What did Diamond & Carey (1987) find with dog experts?

Answer 13

Inversion effects occur with dogs only in dog breeders, suggesting expertise enhances configural processing.

Question 14

What do single-cell recordings show about face perception?

Answer 14

Different neurons code for either identity or emotional expression.

Question 15

What is the identity after-effect?

Answer 15

After adapting to a face, a mixed face appears more like the unfamiliar one, indicating adaptation in identity-coding neurons.

Question 16

What does this show about neural coding?

Answer 16

It is plastic and can be biased by recent exposure.

Question 17

What is the emotion after-effect?

Answer 17

After seeing a happy face, a neutral face looks angry and vice versa.

Question 18

What does this suggest about emotion perception?

Answer 18

Emotion-processing neurons undergo adaptation, similar to identity neurons.

Question 19

What are the two stages of the Bruce & Young model?

Answer 19

1. Structural Encoding (initial visual processing) 2. Extended Processing (splits into Expression analysis and Face Recognition Units).

Question 20

What is a limitation of this model?

Answer 20

It assumes a one-way flow from visual input to expression/identity—too rigid.

Question 21

How is the Haxby model different from Bruce & Young?

Answer 21

Face processing is distributed across regions with bidirectional interactions; identity and emotion processing are interconnected.

Question 22

What are the three main processing stages in this model?

Answer 22

1. Inferior occipital gyrus (early perception) 2. Superior temporal sulcus (expression/motion) 3. Lateral fusiform gyrus (identity).

Question 23

What additional influence is included in the Haxby model?

Answer 23

Person knowledge (e.g., familiarity) can modulate early visual processing.

Question 24

What methods are used to study face processing in the brain?

Answer 24

ERP, fMRI, single-cell recording, lesion studies, and brain stimulation.

Question 25

What are two conditions where face processing is atypical?

Answer 25

Autism spectrum conditions and Prosopagnosia.

Question 26

What is the N170 and what does it indicate?

Answer 26

A face-specific ERP component ~170 ms after stimulus, reflecting structural encoding of faces.

Question 27

Is N170 sensitive to expression, viewpoint, or familiarity?

Answer 27

No—it reflects configural processing, not changeable aspects.

Question 28

Can stylised or cartoon faces trigger N170?

Answer 28

Yes—even schematic faces elicit this component.

Question 29

What are the three key face-selective brain areas revealed by fMRI?

Answer 29

FFA (identity), OFA (part-based recognition), STS (dynamic aspects like expression).

Question 30

What task was used to isolate face processing areas in fMRI studies?

Answer 30

Comparing activity from faces vs. scrambled images of houses, chairs, etc.

Question 31

What is repetition suppression in face perception?

Answer 31

Reduced neural response when a stimulus is repeated.

Question 32

Which brain regions show identity-related RS?

Answer 32

FFA and posterior STS (same person, different expression).

Question 33

Which area shows RS for repeated expressions?

Answer 33

Anterior STS (different people, same expression).

Question 34

What is prosopagnosia and its neural cause?

Answer 34

Face blindness caused by damage to the ventral stream, including the FFA.

Question 35

What is Capgras delusion and its neural basis?

Answer 35

Belief that familiar people are imposters, likely due to STS/dorsal stream dysfunction (loss of emotional recognition).

Question 36

How does this model differ from earlier models?

Answer 36

It proposes a distributed, bidirectional system where memory can influence early perception.

Question 37

What are the ventral and dorsal streams responsible for?

Answer 37

Ventral: identity. Dorsal: emotion and motion.

Question 38

What muscle areas are involved in emotional expression?

Answer 38

Positive: eyes and mouth (genuine smiles involve both). Negative: eyes, eyebrows, and mouth.

Question 39

Where do we fixate when reading emotions on a face?

Answer 39

Most on eyes; least on mouth; moderate on nose.

Question 40

What happens with amygdala damage?

Answer 40

Difficulty recognising emotional expressions.

Question 41

What did Behrmann et al. (2006) find?

Answer 41

Autistic children focus more on mouths than eyes and show reduced face discrimination and emotion recognition.

Question 42

What did Scherf et al. (2015) find?

Answer 42

Autistic individuals lack a face inversion effect, show similar FFA activation for faces and houses, and FFA activity negatively correlates with autism severity.

Question 43

What did Humphreys et al. (2007) find?

Answer 43

Autistic individuals are less accurate at identifying anger, disgust, and fear—may be due to focusing on mouths rather than eyes.

Question 44

How is configural processing different in autism?

Answer 44

No strong inversion effect, reduced holistic processing, less FFA activation for faces, similar activation for houses.

Question 45

What is the relationship between autism severity and FFA function?

Answer 45

Higher autistic traits = less FFA recruitment for faces.

Question 46

What is “face space” (Valentine, 2000)?

Answer 46

A multidimensional representation of face features; the average face is central.

Question 47

What influences recognition in face space?

Answer 47

The distance from average—faces further from average are easier to identify.

Question 48

What are the ORE and OAE effects?

Answer 48

Other-Race Effect (difficulty recognising unfamiliar racial groups) and Other-Age Effect (difficulty recognising unfamiliar age groups).

Question 49

How does social media affect face space?

Answer 49

Image filters shift the perceived "average," affecting beauty standards and face judgments.

Question 50

What is visual speech?

Answer 50

Understanding speech by watching lip movements, especially in noisy settings.

Question 51

What brain areas are involved in visual speech?

Answer 51

V5/MT for motion processing and speech production areas.

Question 52

Why is visual speech impaired in autism?

Answer 52

Due to reduced V5/MT activity, atypical fixation patterns (focusing on mouth), and reduced face-selective activity in STS.