title: The Influence of Changes in Size and Proportion of Selected Facial Features (Eyes, Nose, Mouth) on Assessment of Similarity between Female Faces.
abstract: The project aimed at finding the answers to the following two questions: to what extent does a change in size, height or width of the selected facial features influence the assessment of likeness between an original female composite portrait and a modified one? And how does the sex of the person who judges the images have an impact on the perception of likeness of facial features? The first stage of the project consisted of creating the image of the averaged female faces. Then the basic facial features like eyes, nose and mouth were cut out of the averaged face and each of these features was transformed in three ways: its size was changed by reduction or enlargement, its height was modified through reduction or enlargement of the above-mentioned features and its width was altered through widening or narrowing. In each out of six feature alternation methods, intensity of modification reached up to 20% of the original size with changes every 2%. The features altered in such a way were again stuck onto the original faces and retouched. The third stage consisted of the assessment, performed by the judges of both sexes, of the extent of likeness between the averaged composite portrait (without any changes) and the modified portraits. The results indicate that there are significant differences in the assessment of likeness of the portraits with some features modified to the original ones. The images with changes in the size and height of the nose received the lowest scores on the likeness scale, which indicates that these changes were perceived by the subjects as the most important. The photos with changes in the height of lip vermillion thickness (the lip height), lip width and the height and width of eye slit, in turn, received high scores of likeness, in spite of big changes, which signifies that these modifications were perceived as less important when compared to the other features investigated.
authors.forename: Zdzisław
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lewandowski
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005123:Eye / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005145:Face / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D000066499:Facial Recognition / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009055:Mouth / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D009666:Nose / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D012737:Sex Factors; D055815:Young Adult