The impact of face-processing abilities and face inversion on the visual extraction strategies in face processing

面部线索传递的信息，我们可以用来快速处理基本特征，如身份、性别、年龄和种族血统，以及社会信息，如美丽、可信度或情绪。这种丰富的信息使人类能够根据他们所面临的遭遇或情况的性质来调整自己的行为。例如，一个人不应该像对待现任加拿大总理斯蒂芬·哈珀那样对待亲密的朋友。从面部处理中提取必要的视觉线索以产生适当和适应的反应的能力不是一件简单的事。研究人员认为人脸处理是人类感知系统必须完成的最复杂的任务之一。然而，大多数人都认为这是一件轻而易举的事。自然，在正常人群中存在着强烈的个体差异。有些人表现出非凡的能力，而另一些人则经历了很多困难。人脸识别器好坏之间的差异有可能帮助我们理解人类大脑是如何处理和识别人脸的。本研究项目的主要目标之一是研究个体差异如何影响视觉信息提取策略。最好的人脸识别器是否能更有效地处理人脸识别的基本视觉信息？他们的眼球运动在提取信息时是否更有效？我们还将探讨如何将人脸倒过来呈现，这是一种被证明可以破坏有效人脸识别的方法，即使在最好的人脸识别器中，也会影响感知策略。结合心理物理方法和注视跟踪实验，本研究将帮助我们更好地理解视觉系统如何适应人脸识别的挑战。此外，一旦我们扩展了大脑如何处理面孔的知识，就有可能开发培训项目来帮助那些在面孔方面遇到困难的人。

Facial cues convey information that we can use to quickly process basic characteristics such as identity, gender, age and ethnical origin as well as social information such as beauty, trustworthiness or mood. This wealth of information allows human beings to adjust their behaviors according to the nature of the encounter or situation with which they are confronted. For example, one should not behave with a close friend in the same way as one should with Stephen Harper, the current Prime Minister of Canada. The ability to extract the necessary visual cues from facial processing in order to produce an adequate and adapted response is no simple feat. Researchers consider face processing as one of the most complex tasks the human perceptual system must perform. However, most human beings are under the impression that it is an easy and effortless task. Naturally, strong individual differences exist within the normal population. Some show exceptional ability whereas others experience much difficulty. This disparity between good and poor face recognizers has the potential of helping us understand how the human brain processes and recognizes faces. One of the main goals of this research project is to examine how individual differences influence visual information extraction strategies. Do the best face recognizers process the basic visual information for face recognition more effectively? Are their eye movements more efficient in extracting this information? We will also explore how presenting faces upside-down, a proven way to disrupt efficient face identification even in the very best face recognizers, impacts perceptual strategies. Using a combination of psychophysical methods and gaze tracking experiments, this proposal will help us acquire a better understanding of how the visual system adapts to the challenges of face recognition. Moreover, once we expand our knowledge of how the brain manages to process faces, it will become possible to develop training programs to help people who experience difficulties with faces.