Processing of Internal and External Features in Face Perception

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Faces are extraordinarily rich sources of information, revealing a person's identity, emotions, or intentions. Apart from biological and social relevance, empirical data suggest that processing mechanisms involved in face perception are different from those mediating other classes of objects. In three studies presented here mechanisms involved in face perception were examined by identifying processing paths activated by internal (eyes, eyebrows, nose, mouth) and external (hair, head and face outline, ears) facial features. Based on the evidence gained in the studies it was possible to tap distinct processing paths for internal and external features, and to draw conclusions about their interaction in producing a facial percept. By identifying temporal intervals for global featural information on the one hand, and detailed featural and configural information on the other, evidence for hypothetical processing stages, separated by temporal order, has been found. The results point to the existence of distinct modes of face processing, and contribute to the current debate about the role of featural and configural facial information, with weight laid on the time course of perception.