FamFac – A Database of Famous Faces for Psychology Experiments
Introduction. High variation in the low-level proprieties of visual stimuli and varying degrees of familiarity with famous faces may have caused a bias in the results of investigations that tried to disentangle the processes involved in familiar and unfamiliar face processing (e.g., temporal differ...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Universidad de San Buenaventura
2023-08-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Psychological Research |
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| Online Access: | https://revistas.usb.edu.co/index.php/IJPR/article/view/6498 |
| _version_ | 1797737521865555968 |
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| author | Fábio Monteiro Paulo Rodrigues Isabel M. Santos Pedro Bem-Haja Pedro J. Rosa |
| author_facet | Fábio Monteiro Paulo Rodrigues Isabel M. Santos Pedro Bem-Haja Pedro J. Rosa |
| author_sort | Fábio Monteiro |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Introduction. High variation in the low-level proprieties of visual stimuli and varying degrees of familiarity with famous faces may have caused a bias in the results of investigations that tried to disentangle the processes involved in familiar and unfamiliar face processing (e.g., temporal differences in the detection of the first event-related potentials specialized in face processing may have been caused by different methods of controlling variance in the low-level proprieties of visual stimuli). Objective. To address these problems, we developed a freely available database of 183 famous faces whose low-level proprieties (brightness, size, resolution) have been homogenized and the level of familiarity established. Method. The brightness of the stimuli was standardized by a custom-developed algorithm. The size and the resolution of the pictures were homogenized in Gimp. The familiarity level of the famous faces was established by a group of 48 Portuguese college students. Results. Our results suggest that the brightness of each image did not differ significantly from the mean brightness value of the stimuli set, confirming the standardizing ability of the algorithm. Forty-one famous faces were classified as highly familiar. Main findings and implications. This study provides two important resources, as both the algorithm and the database are freely available for research purposes. The homogenization of the low-level features and the control of the level of familiarity of the famous faces included in our database should ensure that they do not elicit confounding effects such as the ones verified in past studies.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T13:30:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8c7543e685444688b01c5714dcb16252 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2011-2084 2011-7922 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T13:30:35Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | Universidad de San Buenaventura |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Psychological Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-8c7543e685444688b01c5714dcb162522023-08-24T14:16:36ZengUniversidad de San BuenaventuraInternational Journal of Psychological Research2011-20842011-79222023-08-0116210.21500/20112084.6498FamFac – A Database of Famous Faces for Psychology ExperimentsFábio Monteiro0Paulo Rodrigues 1Isabel M. Santos2Pedro Bem-Haja3Pedro J. Rosa4Universidade de Coimbra Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação: Coimbra, CoimbraDepartment of Psychology and Education, University of Beira InteriorWilliam James Center for Research, University of AveiroCINTESIS@RISE, University of AveiroDigital Human-Environment Interaction Lab, Lusófona University Introduction. High variation in the low-level proprieties of visual stimuli and varying degrees of familiarity with famous faces may have caused a bias in the results of investigations that tried to disentangle the processes involved in familiar and unfamiliar face processing (e.g., temporal differences in the detection of the first event-related potentials specialized in face processing may have been caused by different methods of controlling variance in the low-level proprieties of visual stimuli). Objective. To address these problems, we developed a freely available database of 183 famous faces whose low-level proprieties (brightness, size, resolution) have been homogenized and the level of familiarity established. Method. The brightness of the stimuli was standardized by a custom-developed algorithm. The size and the resolution of the pictures were homogenized in Gimp. The familiarity level of the famous faces was established by a group of 48 Portuguese college students. Results. Our results suggest that the brightness of each image did not differ significantly from the mean brightness value of the stimuli set, confirming the standardizing ability of the algorithm. Forty-one famous faces were classified as highly familiar. Main findings and implications. This study provides two important resources, as both the algorithm and the database are freely available for research purposes. The homogenization of the low-level features and the control of the level of familiarity of the famous faces included in our database should ensure that they do not elicit confounding effects such as the ones verified in past studies. https://revistas.usb.edu.co/index.php/IJPR/article/view/6498face processingface recognitioncontrol of low-level featuresmethodology |
| spellingShingle | Fábio Monteiro Paulo Rodrigues Isabel M. Santos Pedro Bem-Haja Pedro J. Rosa FamFac – A Database of Famous Faces for Psychology Experiments International Journal of Psychological Research face processing face recognition control of low-level features methodology |
| title | FamFac – A Database of Famous Faces for Psychology Experiments |
| title_full | FamFac – A Database of Famous Faces for Psychology Experiments |
| title_fullStr | FamFac – A Database of Famous Faces for Psychology Experiments |
| title_full_unstemmed | FamFac – A Database of Famous Faces for Psychology Experiments |
| title_short | FamFac – A Database of Famous Faces for Psychology Experiments |
| title_sort | famfac a database of famous faces for psychology experiments |
| topic | face processing face recognition control of low-level features methodology |
| url | https://revistas.usb.edu.co/index.php/IJPR/article/view/6498 |
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