Birkbeck Seminar: Richard Cook

TITLE: Holistic face processing in typical and atypical observers

SPEAKER: Richard Cook, Birkbeck

ABSTRACT:

Holistic theories of face perception posit that local facial features are integrated into a unified representation for the purposes of efficient analysis and interpretation. Observers' ability to integrate information from distal facial regions is thought be a key determinant of their face recognition ability. I will discuss recent studies employing composite face paradigms and aperture viewing that have sought to understand the nature of holistic face processing in typical observers, and in those with developmental prosopagnosia. Our findings call into question widely held views about the functional significance of holistic face processing.