Familiarity effects on categorization levels of faces and objects (original) (raw)
Related papers
What's in the name? Categorical Perception of unfamiliar faces can occur through labelling.
Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 15, 787-794, 2008
The conditions under which categorical perception (CP) occurs for unfamiliar faces are unclear. Although CP is generally found only for familiar faces, it has been reported for unfamiliar faces after brief training (Levin& Beale, 2000) or even without any learning of the original faces (Campanella, Hanoteau, Seron, Joassin, & Bruyer, 2003). Three experiments investigated whether CP can be observed for an unfamiliar morphed face continuum without preexposure to the endpoints of the continuum (Experiment 1); with brief exposure to the endpoints (Experiment 2); or with exposure to named endpoints (Experiment 3). CP was always observed for matched pairs of famous faces. However, CP for unfamiliar faces was induced only when participants observed names paired with the endpoint faces before the start of the experiment. The results suggest that CP effects for unfamiliar faces can be observed extremely rapidly when clear category labels are presented.
The preferred level of face categorization depends on discriminability
Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 2008
People usually categorize objects more quickly at the basic level (e.g., "dog") than at the subordinate (e.g., "collie") or superordinate (e.g., "animal") levels. Notable exceptions to this rule include objects of expertise, faces, or atypical objects (e.g., "penguin," "poodle"), all of which show faster than normal subordinate-level categorization. We hypothesize that the subordinate-level reaction time advantage for faces is influenced by their discriminability relative to other faces in the stimulus set. First, we replicated the subordinate-level advantage for faces (Experiment 1) and then showed that a basic-level advantage for faces can be elicited by increasing the perceptual similarity of the face stimuli, making discrimination more difficult (Experiment 2). Finally, we repeated both effects within subjects, showing that individual faces were slower to be categorized in the context of similar faces and more quickly categorized among diverse faces (Experiment 3).
The statistical structure of a class of objects such as human faces can be exploited to recognize familiar faces from novel viewpoints and under variable illumination conditions. We present computational and psychophysical data concerning the extent to which class-based learning transfers or generalizes within the class of faces. We first examine the computational prerequisite for generalization across views of novel faces, namely, the similarity of different faces to each other. We next describe two computational models which exploit the similarity structure of the class of faces. The performance of these models constrains hypotheses about the nature of face representation in human vision, and supports the notion that human face processing operates in a class-based fashion. Finally, we relate the computational data to well-established findings in the human memory literature concerning the relationship between the typicality and recognizability of faces.
Effect of Familiarity on the Processing of Human Faces
NeuroImage, 1999
Most brain imaging studies on face perception have investigated the processing of unknown faces and addressed mainly the question of specific face processing in the human brain. The goal of this study was to highlight the effects of familiarity on the visual processing of faces. Using [ 15 O]water 3D Positron Emission Tomography, regional cerebral blood flow distribution was measured in 11 human subjects performing an identical task (gender categorization) on both unknown and known faces. Subjects also performed two control tasks (a face recognition task and a visual pattern discrimination task). They were scanned after a training phase using videotapes during which they had been familiarized with and learned to recognize a set of faces. Two major results were obtained. On the one hand, we found bilateral activations of the fusiform gyri in the three face conditions, including the so-called fusiform-face area, a region in the right fusiform gyrus specifically devoted to face processing. This common activation suggests that different cognitive tasks performed on known and unknown faces require the involvement of this fusiform region. On the other hand, specific regional cerebral blood flow changes were related to the processing of known and unknown faces. The left amygdala, a structure involved in implicit learning of visual representations, was activated by the categorization task on unknown faces. The same task on known faces induced a relative decrease of activity in early visual areas. These differences between the two categorization tasks reveal that the human brain processes known and unknown faces differently. 1999 Academic Press
Consciousness and cognition, 2001
A common view in face recognition research holds that there is a stored representation specific to each known face. It is also posited that semantic or memory-based information cannot influence low-level face processing. The two experiments reported in this article investigate the nature of this representation and the flow of face information processing. Participants had to search for a particular primed face among other faces. In Experiment 1, the search was done in a context where distractors had either a different degree of fame or the same degree of fame. In Experiment 2, the target face was primed either with semantic information or without any information. Both experiments demonstrated that increasing the display set size lengthened face detection time. However, the lengthening was a function of face fame. The search context also had an effect on the slope of the famous face detection. The results are explained in terms of the idea that face representations are reconstructed and that high-and low-level information are integrated into the processing. The integration process is not a conscious one.
Categorical perception of newly learned faces
Visual Cognition, 2007
Five experiments investigated identification and discrimination of faces. Stimuli were blends of two faces generated with a morphing algorithm. Two same-gender and two different-gender pairs of faces were tested. Experiment 1 (identification) estimated the point of indifference along the morphing sequence, and the associated differential threshold. Experiment 2 (discrimination, ABX) demonstrated that novel faces are perceived categorically. Identity was a more important factor than gender in generating the perceptual categories. Experiment 3 and 4 (identification) demonstrated that categories are generated progressively in the course of the experiment and depend on the range of morphs tested in any one condition. Confidence ratings (Experiment 5) showed that the multidimensional space where faces are represented can be collapsed onto a single dimension. Response probabilities and response times for Experiments 1 Á4 were predicted simultaneously by a counting model postulating that quanta of discriminal information are
Arbitrary category labels can change similarity judgments of human faces
2012
In two experiments, participants were presented with a triad of morphed White and Hispanic faces paired with pseudoword labels. The meanings of these labels were manipulated to represent categorical information about the face. Labels were said to represent either the person's belief, the food s/he ate, the disease s/he had, or the person's last name. The results indicated that categorical information affects our judgments of faces. Information categories such as belief, food, and diseases were particularly strong in modifying the participants' similarity judgment of faces, whereas information characterized with last names of faces were least powerful. Previous research focuses on race face perception being affected primarily by racial indicators or racial information. Our results provide that how we perceptually analyze faces is not confined to obvious racial cues, but by non-racial semantic information as well, suggesting that category-relevant information by itself provides a strong basis for inductive generalization.
What’s in the name? Categorical perception for unfamiliar faces can occur through labeling
Psychonomic bulletin & review, 2008
The conditions under which categorical perception (CP) occurs for unfamiliar faces are unclear. Although CP is generally found only for familiar faces, it has been reported for unfamiliar faces after brief training (Levin & Beale, 2000) or even without any learning of the original faces (Campanella, Hanoteau, Seron, Joassin, & Bruyer, 2003). Three experiments investigated whether CP can be observed for an unfamiliar morphed face continuum without preexposure to the endpoints of the continuum (Experiment 1); with brief exposure to the ...
Featuring familiarity: How a familiar feature instantiation influences categorization
Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology, 2009
We demonstrate that a familiar-looking feature can influence categorization through two different routes, depending on whether a person is reliant on abstract feature representations or on concrete feature representations. In two experiments, trained participants categorized new category members in a three-step procedure: Participants made an initial categorization, described the rule-consistent features indicated by the experimenter, and then re-categorized the item. Critical was what happened on the second categorization after participants initially categorized an item based on a familiar, but misleading, feature. Participants reliant on abstract features most commonly reversed themselves after the rule-consistent features were pointed out, suggesting the familiar feature had biased attention. Participants reliant on concrete feature representations, however, most commonly persisted with the initial response as if the familiar feature were more important than its rivals-the familiar feature biased decision-making.