Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Association Areas of the Cortex01:21

Association Areas of the Cortex

10.2K
Association areas are regions of the cerebral cortex that do not have a specific sensory or motor function. Instead, they integrate and interpret information from various sources to enable higher cognitive processes such as memory, learning, and decision-making. Some key association areas include the following:
Prefrontal Association Area: This area is located in the frontal lobe and is involved in planning, decision-making, and moderating social behavior. It connects with primary motor areas,...
10.2K
Gestalt Principles of Perception01:21

Gestalt Principles of Perception

1.8K
Gestalt principles provide a framework for understanding how humans perceive objects as unified wholes within their context. These principles are essential in explaining the cognitive processes that make sense of complex visual stimuli by organizing them into coherent groups. One fundamental principle is proximity, which posits that objects located close to each other are perceived as a collective group. For instance, when dots are positioned near one another, the visual system interprets them...
1.8K
Depth Perception and Spatial Vision01:15

Depth Perception and Spatial Vision

2.7K
Depth perception is the ability to perceive objects three-dimensionally. It relies on two types of cues: binocular and monocular. Binocular cues depend on the combination of images from both eyes and how the eyes work together. Since the eyes are in slightly different positions, each eye captures a slightly different image. This disparity between images, known as binocular disparity, helps the brain interpret depth. When the brain compares these images, it determines the distance to an object.
2.7K
Facial Feedback Hypothesis01:24

Facial Feedback Hypothesis

953
Charles Darwin proposed that facial expressions are an evolutionary adaptation for communication. He argued that these expressions are not influenced by culture but are universal across species. For example, a snarling expression with exposed teeth signals a threat in many animals, including humans. Darwin also suggested that displaying an emotion can intensify the feeling. Smiling, for example, could enhance one's sense of happiness. This idea laid the foundation for understanding the role...
953
Perceptual Constancy01:12

Perceptual Constancy

1.8K
Perceptual constancy is the ability to recognize that objects remain consistent and unchanged even when their appearance varies due to changes in sensory input. There are four main types of perceptual constancy: size constancy, shape constancy, color constancy, and brightness constancy.
Size constancy is the recognition that an object remains the same size, even when its image on the retina changes. For instance, a bus is perceived to be large enough to carry people, even if it looks tiny from...
1.8K
Vision01:24

Vision

48.6K
Vision is the result of light being detected and transduced into neural signals by the retina of the eye. This information is then further analyzed and interpreted by the brain. First, light enters the front of the eye and is focused by the cornea and lens onto the retina—a thin sheet of neural tissue lining the back of the eye. Because of refraction through the convex lens of the eye, images are projected onto the retina upside-down and reversed.
48.6K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Conceptual trait associations predict impressions of highly variable faces.

British journal of psychology (London, England : 1953)·2025
Same author

How neural representations of newly learnt faces change over time: Event-related brain potential evidence for overnight consolidation.

Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior·2023
Same author

Personal familiarity of faces, animals, objects, and scenes: Distinct perceptual and overlapping conceptual representations.

Cognition·2023
Same author

A first impression of the future.

British journal of psychology (London, England : 1953)·2023
Same author

Understanding trait impressions from faces.

British journal of psychology (London, England : 1953)·2022
Same author

The roles of shape and texture in the recognition of familiar faces.

Vision research·2022
Same journal

Predictive models and parameter analysis for multiple tactile perceptions in skin-wet fabrics interface.

Perception·2026
Same journal

High-resolution kitsch by AI: Why society needs art, not more AI content.

Perception·2026
Same journal

Benchmarking spatial discrimination thresholds of two-frame motion defined forms compared to luminance and stereoscopic defined forms.

Perception·2026
Same journal

The effect of face masks on the perception of trustworthiness and competence in individuals with autistic traits.

Perception·2026
Same journal

The importance of external features for categorizing ethnicity: can Koreans identify Korean, Japanese, and Chinese faces?

Perception·2026
Same journal

Interoception, alexithymia, and motor congruency: Psychological drivers of body ownership in virtual reality.

Perception·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 2, 2026

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues
07:34

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues

Published on: June 3, 2013

19.5K

Configurational information in face perception.

Andrew W Young1, Deborah Hellawell1, Dennis C Hay1

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Lancaster, Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4YF, UK.

Perception
|March 8, 2014
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Creating unfamiliar faces from familiar face halves disrupts part identification. This effect, crucial for face perception, is lost when composite images are inverted, highlighting the importance of upright configurations.

More Related Videos

Creating Virtual-hand and Virtual-face Illusions to Investigate Self-representation
06:53

Creating Virtual-hand and Virtual-face Illusions to Investigate Self-representation

Published on: March 1, 2017

13.7K
Holistic Facial Composite Creation and Subsequent Video Line-up Eyewitness Identification Paradigm
09:49

Holistic Facial Composite Creation and Subsequent Video Line-up Eyewitness Identification Paradigm

Published on: December 24, 2015

16.2K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 2, 2026

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues
07:34

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues

Published on: June 3, 2013

19.5K
Creating Virtual-hand and Virtual-face Illusions to Investigate Self-representation
06:53

Creating Virtual-hand and Virtual-face Illusions to Investigate Self-representation

Published on: March 1, 2017

13.7K
Holistic Facial Composite Creation and Subsequent Video Line-up Eyewitness Identification Paradigm
09:49

Holistic Facial Composite Creation and Subsequent Video Line-up Eyewitness Identification Paradigm

Published on: December 24, 2015

16.2K

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Visual Perception
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Facial recognition relies on holistic processing of facial features.
  • Configurational information plays a key role in how we perceive faces.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of configurational information in face perception.
  • To demonstrate a novel facial composite technique and its effect on identification.

Main Methods:

  • A new technique was used to create composite faces by combining top and bottom halves of different familiar faces.
  • Experiments involved presenting upright and inverted composite stimuli to participants.
  • Participants' ability to identify constituent facial parts was assessed.

Main Results:

  • Composite stimuli created novel, unfamiliar faces that interfered with identifying the original facial parts.
  • This interference effect disappeared when the composite stimuli were inverted.
  • Difficulty in identifying parts persisted even with unfamiliar face fragments and well-known people's features.

Conclusions:

  • Configurational information is critical for accurate face perception.
  • The perception of configurations is dependent on the upright orientation of faces.
  • Novel facial configurations can be convincingly perceived, impacting the recognition of individual components.