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. 2024 Jan 2;19(1):e0295407.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0295407. eCollection 2024.

The role of inversion and face masks on simultaneous and delayed face matching tasks

Alejandro J Estudillo  1   2 , Hoo Keat Wong  2
Affiliations

The role of inversion and face masks on simultaneous and delayed face matching tasks

Alejandro J Estudillo et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Although it is generally accepted that face recognition relies on holistic processing, it has been suggested that the simultaneous face matching task may depend on a more analytical or featural processing approach. However, empirical evidence supporting this claim is limited. In two experiments, we further explored the role of holistic and featural processing on simultaneous face matching by manipulating holistic processing through inversion and presenting faces with or without face masks. The results from Experiment 1 revealed that both inversion and face masks impaired matching performance. However, while the inversion effect was evident in both full-view and masked faces, the mask effect was only found in upright, but not inverted, faces. These results were replicated in Experiment 2 but, the inversion and mask effects were stronger in delayed face matching than in simultaneous face matching. Our findings suggest that simultaneous face matching relies on holistic processing, but to a smaller extent compared to higher memory-demanding identification tasks.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Mean d-prime across viewing and orientation conditions.
Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Mean d-prime across tasks, viewing and orientation conditions.
Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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