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Published on: June 3, 2013
Face identification in the near-absence of focal attention
Leila Reddy1, Lavanya Reddy, Christof Koch
1Computation and Neural Systems, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA. lreddy@klab.caltech.edu
Abstract:
In contrast to artificial geometric shapes, natural scenes and face-gender can be processed even when spatial attention is not fully available. In this study, we investigate whether a finer discrimination, at the level of the individual, is possible in the near-absence of focal attention. Using the paradigm, subjects performed face identification on faces of celebrities and relatively unfamiliar individuals, along with a task that is known to engage spatial attention. We find that face-identification performance is only modestly impaired under dual-task conditions. These results suggest that the visual system is well able to make complex judgments of natural stimuli, even when attention is not fully available.
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