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The clone devaluation effect: does duplication of local facial features matter?
Fumiya Yonemitsu1,2, Kyoshiro Sasaki3, Akihiko Gobara4,5
1Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Hiroshima University, 1-7-1 Kagamiyama, Higashihiroshima, Hiroshima, 739-8521, Japan. y.fumiya.0408@gmail.com.
BMC Research Notes
|October 30, 2021
Summary
The clone devaluation effect, where seeing identical faces evokes eeriness, is not caused by duplicated facial features. This study suggests identity duplication, not feature duplication, drives this uncanny phenomenon.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Perception
Background:
- The clone devaluation effect describes increased eeriness when observing individuals with identical faces (clone faces).
- Two hypotheses explain this effect: duplication of facial features or duplication of identities between clone faces.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether the duplication of identities or facial features is responsible for the clone devaluation effect.
- To differentiate between feature-based and identity-based explanations for clone devaluation.
Main Methods:
- Participants evaluated the subjective eeriness of scrambled clone faces and scrambled different faces.
- The paired comparison method was employed to assess perceived eeriness.
Main Results:
- A minimal difference in subjective eeriness was observed between scrambled clone faces and scrambled different faces.
- The duplication of local facial features showed a negligible role in inducing the clone devaluation effect.
Conclusions:
- The findings suggest that the duplication of local facial features is not a primary driver of the clone devaluation effect.
- Further research may be needed to explore the role of identity duplication in this phenomenon.
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