Ape recognition of familiar human faces changed by time and COVID-19 face masks
Reports of primates being able to recognise familiar humans are rare in the literature and tend to be regarded as anecdotal. The COVID-19 pandemic created two unique conditions facilitating the observation of spontaneous face recognition in zoo apes: i) lengthy gaps in contact with human visitors du...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-04-01
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| Series: | Heliyon |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024039070 |
| _version_ | 1797234056070430720 |
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| author | Lindsay Murray |
| author_facet | Lindsay Murray |
| author_sort | Lindsay Murray |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Reports of primates being able to recognise familiar humans are rare in the literature and tend to be regarded as anecdotal. The COVID-19 pandemic created two unique conditions facilitating the observation of spontaneous face recognition in zoo apes: i) lengthy gaps in contact with human visitors due to lockdowns and zoo closures, and ii) the wearing of face masks obscuring at least half the face of familiar individuals. Here, I report on the historical context of the familiarity between a primatologist and individual apes of two species, how those apes consistently showed recognition of this particular human over a time span of up to thirty years, how facial recognition was extended to family members, and how recognition persisted even when a significant portion of the face was obscured by a mask. This constitutes, to my knowledge, the first documented cases of recognition of familiar human faces changed by time and COVID-19 face masks in two great ape species. Although based on just two individuals, the documentation of this ability is important because it arose in a more naturalistic and spontaneous context compared to typical face processing research in which primates are tested with experimental stimuli in a laboratory setting. Implications for face processing theory and applications for the therapeutic utility of faces are discussed. These observations provide insight into the evolutionary origins of face recognition and, sitting at the interface of science and society, are of interest to a wide audience. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T16:25:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9c09b38fb3574a33a1e5047f54782c5a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2405-8440 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T16:25:59Z |
| publishDate | 2024-04-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heliyon |
| spelling | doaj.art-9c09b38fb3574a33a1e5047f54782c5a2024-03-31T04:37:32ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402024-04-01107e27876Ape recognition of familiar human faces changed by time and COVID-19 face masksLindsay Murray0School of Psychology, University of Chester, Chester, CH1 4BJ, UKReports of primates being able to recognise familiar humans are rare in the literature and tend to be regarded as anecdotal. The COVID-19 pandemic created two unique conditions facilitating the observation of spontaneous face recognition in zoo apes: i) lengthy gaps in contact with human visitors due to lockdowns and zoo closures, and ii) the wearing of face masks obscuring at least half the face of familiar individuals. Here, I report on the historical context of the familiarity between a primatologist and individual apes of two species, how those apes consistently showed recognition of this particular human over a time span of up to thirty years, how facial recognition was extended to family members, and how recognition persisted even when a significant portion of the face was obscured by a mask. This constitutes, to my knowledge, the first documented cases of recognition of familiar human faces changed by time and COVID-19 face masks in two great ape species. Although based on just two individuals, the documentation of this ability is important because it arose in a more naturalistic and spontaneous context compared to typical face processing research in which primates are tested with experimental stimuli in a laboratory setting. Implications for face processing theory and applications for the therapeutic utility of faces are discussed. These observations provide insight into the evolutionary origins of face recognition and, sitting at the interface of science and society, are of interest to a wide audience.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024039070Face recognitionChimpanzeeGorillaCOVID-19Mask |
| spellingShingle | Lindsay Murray Ape recognition of familiar human faces changed by time and COVID-19 face masks Heliyon Face recognition Chimpanzee Gorilla COVID-19 Mask |
| title | Ape recognition of familiar human faces changed by time and COVID-19 face masks |
| title_full | Ape recognition of familiar human faces changed by time and COVID-19 face masks |
| title_fullStr | Ape recognition of familiar human faces changed by time and COVID-19 face masks |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ape recognition of familiar human faces changed by time and COVID-19 face masks |
| title_short | Ape recognition of familiar human faces changed by time and COVID-19 face masks |
| title_sort | ape recognition of familiar human faces changed by time and covid 19 face masks |
| topic | Face recognition Chimpanzee Gorilla COVID-19 Mask |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024039070 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lindsaymurray aperecognitionoffamiliarhumanfaceschangedbytimeandcovid19facemasks |