Visual analysis of gait as a cue to identity

For humans, the ability to discriminate between, and to identify, others is paramount. The most obvious way this is accomplished is by means of face r ecognition. However, this is not the only method available. The present art icle reports on two experiments designed to see whether gait can be used as a reliable cue to identity. Experiment One showed that the human visual sy stem was sophisticated enough to learn to identify six individuals on the b asis of their gait signature under conditions of simulated daylight, simula ted dusk and point-light displays. It thus appeared that gait-related judge ments could be made, and furthermore, that these judgements were possible w ithout reliance on shape information. Experiment Two suggested that even un der adverse viewing conditions involving a single brief exposure, humans co uld identify a target from a 'walking identity parade' at greater than chan ce levels. These results emerged regardless of the lighting conditions, and were largely independent of the gender of the target walker. As such, the present results suggest that gait could be used as a reliable means of disc riminating between individuals, and the importance of such an identity cue, in conditions in which the face is obscured, are discussed. Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.