Inversion and processing of component and spatial-relational information in faces.

TLDR

The study examined how face inversion affects perception of faces with component distortions versus spatial‑relational distortions. Participants completed a rating task in which inversion reduced grotesqueness ratings for spatially distorted faces but not for componentally distorted faces, and a comparison task where they judged side‑by‑side pairs as identical or different to measure response times. Inversion markedly slowed and reduced rapid responses to spatially differing pairs, but had little effect on componentally differing pairs, indicating that inversion impairs encoding of spatial‑relational information more than componential information.

Abstract

This study compared effects of inversion on perceptual processing of faces with distorted components (eyes and mouths) and faces distorted by altering spatial relations between components. In a rating task, participants inversion reduced the rated grotesqueness of spatially distorted faces but not that of faces with altered components. In a comparison task, pairs of faces were shown side by side; participants judged whether they were identical or different. Inversion greatly reduced the rate at which participants responded within 3 s to pairs that differed spatially, but not pairs that differed componentially. Also, latencies for detecting spatial differences were lengthened by inversion more than latencies for detecting componential differences. Results support the hypothesis that inversion impairs encoding of spatial-relational information more than, or instead of, componential information, depending on the task.