Effects of Face Configuration Change on Shape Perception: A New Illusion

Abstract

We report two experiments indicating that varying the configuration of face features changes perception of an oval aperture windowing the face: as the eyes and mouth of a frontal-view face photograph are moved vertically toward face boundaries, the oval appears increasingly elongated, taller, and narrower; when eyes and mouth are moved toward the nose, the oval appears increasingly rounder, shorter, and wider. This shape illusion is maximised when faces appear upright within the oval, and major face features (eyes, nose, and mouth) appear in their correct relative locations. These results establish that processing of a face configuration can affect perception of a geometric shape that shares visual space with a face. Whether the illusion is face-specific or a special case of a more general geometric illusion is discussed.