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Gaze perception under vertical asymmetries in illumination
Tamara Bowers1, Colin J Palmer2,3
1School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.
Scientific Reports
|March 14, 2026
Summary
Vertical lighting changes alter perceived gaze direction. The human visual system uses perceptual constancy to interpret social cues like eye contact, even with varying light.
Area of Science:
- Visual perception
- Social cognition
- Human visual system
Background:
- Strong overhead lighting is typical in daily life, influencing human visual processing.
- Gaze direction is a crucial social cue derived from facial appearance, guiding social cognition.
- Understanding how lighting affects gaze perception is vital for social interaction.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how vertical illumination asymmetries impact the perception of gaze direction.
- To explore the role of perceptual constancy in interpreting gaze under different lighting conditions.
- To determine the robustness of gaze perception across varying facial lighting.
Main Methods:
- Presenting faces with varying vertical illumination.
- Analyzing observer judgments of apparent gaze direction and eye contact.
- Investigating the reliance on lighting context cues for gaze perception.
Main Results:
- Vertical lighting direction changes systematically shift perceived gaze angle.
- Perceptual constancy mechanisms strongly influence gaze perception under vertical lighting asymmetries.
- Gaze perception remains robust under both top and bottom lighting, with notable reliance on lighting cues for faces lit from below.
Conclusions:
- Facial appearance variations due to lighting influence social cue perception.
- Perceptual constancy is crucial for stable gaze direction interpretation in naturalistic lighting.
- The visual system adapts to maintain robust gaze perception despite environmental lighting asymmetries.
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