Impressions of centripetal and centrifugal faces

Abstract

Many previous studies have indicated the role of configural information from eyebrows, eyes, nose, and the mouth in the process of face recognition. We focused on configurations such as centripetal and centrifugal faces. In a “centripetal face” each part of the face is located close to the center of the face, whereas in a “centrifugal face” they are placed away from the center. We experimentally investigated how these configurations affected impressions of the face. We produced five average female facial images. Then two centripetal and centrifugal facial images were generated using each of the five average faces, such that a total of 25 facial images were used as stimuli. Participants () were asked to rate the faces in terms of 20 semantic differential scales. A factor analysis with varimax rotation suggested two factors: “activity” and “familiarity.” The placements of the facial images in the factor space indicated that both centripetal and centrifugal faces were relatively less active and less familiar than their average ones, and there were no relations between centripetal/centrifugal faces and the two factors. These results imply that configurations of facial parts such as centripetal and centrifugal faces could change facial impressions. How such facial configural information will affect the impression of the face remains to be solved.