One extreme or the other or perhaps the golden mean? Issues of spatial resolution in face processing

The findings of some of the key studies that have examined the contribution of different bands of spatial information, specified in terms of cycles pe r face, to face recognition, and identification are reviewed. Based on find ings from studies of low-, high-, and band-pass filtering, it is concluded that neither low facial scales nor high facial scales are optimal. Instead, a center range of facial scales, approximately 8-16 cycles per face, appea rs to make the greatest contribution to the recognition process. A study of identification of band-pass filtered faces is reported that reinforces the view derived from the literature. This indicated that a band with a harmon ic mean of 11.1 cycles per face provided the most efficient recognition, wi th speed and accuracy declining at lower and higher bands.