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Methods for Presenting Real-world Objects Under Controlled Laboratory Conditions
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A visual search advantage for illusory faces in objects.

Robert T Keys1,2, Jessica Taubert3,4, Susan G Wardle5,4

  • 1School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia. robert.tobin.keys@gmail.com.

Attention, Perception & Psychophysics
|March 26, 2021
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Illusory faces, or face pareidolia, are perceived faster than objects in visual search tasks. This suggests the brain uses a broad mechanism for rapid face detection, even with non-real faces.

Keywords:
Face detectionFace perceptionIllusory facesPareidoliaVisual search

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Visual Perception
  • Human-Primate Visual Systems

Background:

  • Face detection is a primary function of the human and primate visual system.
  • Face pareidolia, the perception of faces in inanimate objects, occurs despite the absence of typical facial features.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if illusory faces share the visual search advantage of real human faces.
  • To determine if the brain processes illusory faces rapidly enough to impact visual search efficiency.

Main Methods:

  • A visual search paradigm was employed to compare search times.
  • Illusory faces, real human faces, and matched objects were used as stimuli.
  • Experiments included both matched and diverse distractor conditions.

Main Results:

  • Illusory faces were located faster than matched objects across both experimental conditions.
  • Real human faces exhibited faster and more efficient search times compared to objects with or without illusory faces.
  • This indicates illusory faces confer a visual search advantage.

Conclusions:

  • Illusory faces are processed rapidly by the brain, conferring a visual search advantage.
  • A broadly-tuned mechanism likely facilitates rapid face detection in cluttered environments, encompassing both real and illusory faces.