Asymmetry of Left Versus Right Lateral Face in Face Recognition

摘要

Prior research has found that the left side of the face is emotionally more expressive than the right side [1]. This was demonstrated in a study where the right and the left halves of a face image were combined with their mirror-reversed duplicates to make composite images. When observers were asked which composite face appeared more emotional, they selected the left-left over the right-right composite more often. According to Nicholls et al., this asymmetrical display of facial expression may be a part of an innate code for facial expressions [1]. The identity of the face, on the other hand, requires learning or a process of familiarization. There has been evidence that recognition facial identify can be influenced by recognition of facial expressions [2]. The present research attempts to resolve an unanswered question in this literature: can the hardwired asymmetry in facial expression affect the learning of facial identities? Faces in reality are often seen from the left or right views. Because recognition of novel faces is viewpoint dependent, we ask whether the face can be recognized more easily from the left or right views.