Face Recognition

8 important questions on Face Recognition

What did Riddoch and Humphreys propose?

Inspired by Marrs, the proposed a framework to explain deficits in cognitive processes

What kind of steps were in Riddoch & Humphreys framework? How does this relate to Marrs?

Early step = extract basic features (equivalent to Marr's primal sketch)
Next step = process features to form objects (equivalent to Marr's 2 1/2 D sketch)
Next step = create viewpoint invariant object representation (equivalent to Marr's 3D rep)

= using this model, you can see if patients have a deficit in any of these stages

What is a benefit of Riddoch & Humphrey's model?

It is supported by neuropsychological evidence  E.g. DF – can’t recognise line drawings or even orientation of lines = she can’t find edges and group them together
E.g. HJA – can’t bind info shapes or segregate overlapping shapes, but can draw well = can’t bind features into shapes

Note: this is also consistent to Marr's.
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What are the limitations of Riddoch & Humprey's model?

- assumes object recognition is bottom-up - doesn't account for effects of context
- some aspects are under specified e.g. how is info passed between different stages of the model

Describe Bruce & Young's (1986) model for recognising faces.

The cognitive system...
1. creates a representation of the structure of the face (in the structural encoding unit)
2. matches structural description to existing knowledge about structure of familiar faces (in the face recognition unit)
3. matches face to information about people i.e. jobs, interests (in the person identity node unit)
4. Generates the name of the individual (in the name generation unit)
5. Links to other sources of relevant info& controls allocation of attention to different components of the cognitive system e.g. processing specific facial features, understanding their speech and recognising emotional states

What evidence shows that Bruce &  Young's model is accurate?

The model suggests that naming the individual is one of the last stages in the cognitive process

Supporting evidence:
- Young, Hay & Ellis (1985) = 190 incidents when information is recalled but not the name. There were no reports of name but no information.
- Agnostic patients = can recall information but not names

= shows that recognition should occur faster than name generation
e.g Young et al., (1986): Participant’s faster to categorise familiar faces than to name faces

What are 2 benefits of Bruce & Young's model?

- clear, coherent model, can be used to make predictions
- accounts for differences in familiar and unfamiliar faces

What are 2 limitations of Bruce & Young's model?

- less detailed about unfamiliar faces compared to familiar faces
- extremely vague description of the cognitive system

The question on the page originate from the summary of the following study material:

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