Haig N D
Perception. 1986;15(3):235-47. doi: 10.1068/p150235.
Any attempt to unravel the mechanism underlying the process of human face recognition must begin with experiments that explore human sensitivity to differences between a perceived image and an original memory trace. A set of three consecutive experiments are reported that were collectively designed to measure the relative importance of different facial features. The method involved the use of image-processing equipment to interchange cardinal features among frontally viewed target faces. Observers were required to indicate which of the original target faces most resembled the modified faces. The results clearly establish the dominant influence of the head outline as the major recognition feature. Next in importance is the eye/eyebrow combination, followed by the mouth, and then the nose. As a recognition feature in a frontally presented face, the nose is hardly noticed. The number of apparently random responses to some faces indicates that a surprisingly different face can sometimes arise from a fortuitous combination of the old features.
任何试图揭示人脸识别过程背后机制的尝试，都必须从探索人类对感知图像与原始记忆痕迹之间差异的敏感度的实验开始。本文报告了一组连续的三个实验，这些实验共同设计用于测量不同面部特征的相对重要性。该方法涉及使用图像处理设备在正面观察的目标面孔之间互换主要特征。要求观察者指出原始目标面孔中哪一个与修改后的面孔最相似。结果清楚地表明，头部轮廓作为主要识别特征具有主导影响。其次重要的是眼睛/眉毛组合，然后是嘴巴，再然后是鼻子。作为正面呈现面孔中的识别特征，鼻子几乎不被注意到。对某些面孔明显随机的反应数量表明，有时一个令人惊讶的不同面孔可能源于旧特征的偶然组合。
