Authors: Demanet, Jelle; Dhont, Kristof; Notebaert, Lies; Pattyn, Sven; Vandierendonck, André

Source: Psychologica Belgica, Volume 47, Number 4, 2007 , pp. 261-276(16)

Publisher: Academia Press

Abstract:

This study questions the effectiveness of masking faces by means of pixelation on television or in newspapers. Previous studies have shown that masking just the face leads to unacceptably high recognition levels, making it likely that participants also use other cues for recognition, such as hairstyle or clothes. In the current study we investigate this possibility by means of an identification task in which participants had to identify (partially) masked images of familiar people. To demonstrate that non-facial cues become increasingly important for recognition as faces are masked more strongly, we manipulated the size of the masked area and the degree of pixelation. Confirming our expectations, increasing the size of masked area or its level of deterioration led to lower recognition rates. More importantly, also an interaction effect between the two variables emerged, showing that additional visual information partly compensates the downswing in recognition when masking becomes stronger. Although in some conditions low recognition rates were found, masking was never a hundred percent effective, making it clear that the media should approach this issue with care. Implications of our findings and future directions are considered.

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: Ghent University

Publication date: 2007-10-01

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• Psychologica Belgica is the flagship journal of the Belgian Association for Psychological Science. It appears quarterly and publishes peer-reviewed scientific contributions to all domains of psychology as well as book reviews. Contributions take the form of full-length articles or short reports. Psychologica Belgica is listed in all major indexes, including Current Contents and Psychological Abstracts.
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