Аннотация:Current cognitive models of human face perception suggest that facial processing is carried out through structural coding, and more specifically through generalized facial representations called prototypes. One would expect that the perception of symmetry in familiar and unfamiliar faces would be identical if the prototypes represent the average face for a given population, and would be different if familiar face processingis based on idiosyncratic individual representations. Forty-three personally acquaintedstudy participants rated the asymmetry of each other’s faces and 20 unfamiliar faces inphotographs presented in original and mirror versions, as well as in upright and inverted forms. A significant difference was revealed between the ratings of the original and mirror upright images of familiar faces: the mirror faces were rated as more asymmetric compared to the original ones. No such differences were obtained when rating unfamiliar faces, as well as when flipping images by 180 degrees. An important factor was the level of familiarity of the face being rated: a significant effect was found only in subgroups of participants who communicated with each other daily. In summary, the results support the main hypothesis of different mechanisms for the processing of well-known and unfamiliar faces.
