Matching faces and expressions in pixelated and blurred photos

Matching the emotional expressions of pairs of face photos was slower with pixelated and blurred photos than with original, untransformed photos. Matching the identities of the same face pairs was unaffected by pixelation and blurring. Because pixelation and blurring degrade higher spatial frequencies carrying edge-based information that define feature shape more than lower frequencies carrying configural properties, these findings converge with findings for line drawings and negative photos in showing that expression and face recognition processes differ in their reliance on edge-based and configural information.