Integrating holistic processing and face-space approaches to the perception of facial identity

How does the human visual system recognise individual faces? The project provides the first concerted attempt to address the relationship between the two dominant theoretical approaches to this question -- holistic (or configural) processing, and face-space. Three possibilities will be tested: a) an equivalence theory, in which holistic processing and face-space are the same thing, with its purpose being to identify faces; b) a precursor theory, in which holistic processing is a stage prior to face-space, perhaps necessary but not sufficient for identification; and c) a total independence theory. Experimental methods will draw on a wide range of behavioural techniques from psychophysics, cognitive psychology, and child development.