title: Finding a face in a face-like object.
abstract: Humans have the tendency to perceive a face even in a non-living object. Previous studies report that people perceive facial features and even interpret a personality in a car front. Following these findings, we investigated whether the perception of a face in a face-like object is mediated by human face processing, which involves both featural and configural processing. In our experiment, participants were presented with 30 face-like objects and were asked about the existence of facial features, the intensity of typicality/distinctiveness, and the intensity of facial expression. Using multiple regression analysis, which predicts the perception of a face in a face-like object, we found that the existence of eyes was a significant predictor of variance in perceiving a face in a face-like object.
authors.affiliation: Research and Development Initiative, Chuo University, 742-1 Higashinakano, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo 192-0393, Japan. ichihiro@tamacc.chuo-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Hiroko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ichikawa
authors.forename: So
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kanazawa
authors.forename: Masami K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
mesh_terms: D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D005145:Face; D005149:Facial Expression; D005556:Form Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D012044:Regression Analysis