Perceived face size in healthy adults.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Perception Science

Background:

• Traditional body size perception studies rely on subjective measures of conscious body image.
• Previous research primarily focused on whole-body distortions, neglecting facial perception.
• A gap exists in understanding implicit body representation of facial dimensions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a novel psychophysical method for assessing perceived facial body size.
• To investigate implicit body representation of face dimensions using objective measurements.
• To quantify perceptual distortions in face width and length.

Main Methods:

• A two-alternative forced choice (2AFC) task was employed.
• Participants compared life-size images of their own face, with one image subtly distorted in width or length.
• Adaptive staircase procedures determined the point of subjective equality for perceived face size.

Main Results:

• Face width was consistently overestimated and face length underestimated when faces were viewed upright or upside down.
• Perceptual accuracy for face dimensions was observed in on-side views.
• The method successfully measured implicit body representation of facial size.

Conclusions:

• The study provides the first robust psychophysical measurements of perceived facial size in healthy individuals.
• Novel findings reveal distortions in implicit body representation of the face, independent of conscious body image.
• The developed method offers a reliable tool for future research on body perception and its distortions.