Menzel Claudia, Hayn-Leichsenring Gregor U, Langner Oliver, Wiese Holger, Redies Christoph
Person Perception Research Unit, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Jena, Germany; Experimental Aesthetics Group, Institute of Anatomy I, Jena University Hospital, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Jena, Germany.
Person Perception Research Unit, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Jena, Germany; Department of Neurology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.
PLoS One. 2015 Apr 2;10(4):e0122801. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0122801. eCollection 2015.
We investigated whether low-level processed image properties that are shared by natural scenes and artworks - but not veridical face photographs - affect the perception of facial attractiveness and age. Specifically, we considered the slope of the radially averaged Fourier power spectrum in a log-log plot. This slope is a measure of the distribution of special frequency power in an image. Images of natural scenes and artworks possess - compared to face images - a relatively shallow slope (i.e., increased high spatial frequency power). Since aesthetic perception might be based on the efficient processing of images with natural scene statistics, we assumed that the perception of facial attractiveness might also be affected by these properties. We calculated Fourier slope and other beauty-associated measurements in face images and correlated them with ratings of attractiveness and age of the depicted persons (Study 1). We found that Fourier slope - in contrast to the other tested image properties - did not predict attractiveness ratings when we controlled for age. In Study 2A, we overlaid face images with random-phase patterns with different statistics. Patterns with a slope similar to those in natural scenes and artworks resulted in lower attractiveness and higher age ratings. In Studies 2B and 2C, we directly manipulated the Fourier slope of face images and found that images with shallower slopes were rated as more attractive. Additionally, attractiveness of unaltered faces was affected by the Fourier slope of a random-phase background (Study 3). Faces in front of backgrounds with statistics similar to natural scenes and faces were rated as more attractive. We conclude that facial attractiveness ratings are affected by specific image properties. An explanation might be the efficient coding hypothesis.
我们研究了自然场景和艺术品所共有的、但真实面部照片所没有的低层次处理图像属性是否会影响对面部吸引力和年龄的感知。具体而言，我们考虑了对数-对数图中径向平均傅里叶功率谱的斜率。该斜率是图像中特定频率功率分布的一种度量。与面部图像相比，自然场景和艺术品的图像具有相对较浅的斜率（即高空间频率功率增加）。由于审美感知可能基于对具有自然场景统计特征的图像的有效处理，我们假设面部吸引力的感知也可能受到这些属性的影响。我们计算了面部图像的傅里叶斜率和其他与美相关的测量值，并将它们与所描绘人物的吸引力和年龄评分进行关联（研究1）。我们发现，在控制年龄的情况下，与其他测试的图像属性相比，傅里叶斜率并不能预测吸引力评分。在研究2A中，我们用具有不同统计特征的随机相位图案覆盖面部图像。斜率与自然场景和艺术品中的斜率相似的图案导致较低的吸引力评分和较高的年龄评分。在研究2B和2C中，我们直接操纵面部图像的傅里叶斜率，发现斜率较浅的图像被评为更具吸引力。此外，未改变的面部的吸引力受到随机相位背景的傅里叶斜率的影响（研究3）。置于具有与自然场景和面部相似统计特征的背景前的面部被评为更具吸引力。我们得出结论，面部吸引力评分受到特定图像属性的影响。一种解释可能是有效编码假说。
