Corneal reflections and skin contrast yield better memory of human and virtual faces

Julija Vaitonytė; Maryam Alimardani; Max M. Louwerse

doi:10.1186/s41235-022-00445-y

Corneal reflections and skin contrast yield better memory of human and virtual faces

Julija Vaitonytė
, Maryam Alimardani
, Max M. Louwerse

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

Virtual faces have been found to be rated less human-like and remembered worse than photographic images of humans. What it is in virtual faces that yields reduced memory has so far remained unclear. The current study investigated face memory in the context of virtual agent faces and human faces, real and manipulated, considering two factors of predicted influence, i.e., corneal reflections and skin contrast. Corneal reflections referred to the bright points in each eye that occur when the ambient light reflects from the surface of the cornea. Skin contrast referred to the degree to which skin surface is rough versus smooth. We conducted two memory experiments, one with high-quality virtual agent faces (Experiment 1) and the other with the photographs of human faces that were manipulated (Experiment 2). Experiment 1 showed better memory for virtual faces with increased corneal reflections and skin contrast (rougher rather than smoother skin). Experiment 2 replicated these findings, showing that removing the corneal reflections and smoothening the skin reduced memory recognition of manipulated faces, with a stronger effect exerted by the eyes than the skin. This study highlights specific features of the eyes and skin that can help explain memory discrepancies between real and virtual faces and in turn elucidates the factors that play a role in the cognitive processing of faces.

Original language	English
Article number	94
Journal	Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications
Volume	7
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1186/s41235-022-00445-y
Publication status	Published - 1 Dec 2022
Externally published	Yes

Funding

The authors thank other members of the ViBE (Virtual Humans in the Brabant Economy) project team for their participation in the pilot testing of the experiments. Faces are one of the most frequently encountered stimuli humans experience. Currently, we are mostly exposed to natural human faces, either in real life or via computer-mediated communication. However, due to advancements in face digitization (e.g., 3D scanning techniques), we will likely encounter virtual faces more frequently, not only in film and computer games, but also in face-to-face interactions with virtual agents. Increasing prevalence of virtual agent faces in the future warrants the need to understand how we process these faces. Artificial faces have previously been found to be remembered less well than natural faces; however, the underlying reasons remain unclear. Here, we advanced the hypothesis that two features in the face affect face memory, i.e., corneal reflections and skin contrast. Our findings suggest that these features influence memory of both real human faces and the faces of virtual agents. The number of corneal reflections and increased skin contrast yielded improved memory effects, compared to the absence of corneal reflections and smoothened skin. For cognitive and social psychologists, these findings are important as they contribute to a larger body of evidence on the processing and memory of human faces. For researchers working at the intersection of psychology and virtual agent development, this work points to the facial features that need to be paid special attention when creating an engaging artificial face. This research has been funded by the Grant No.: PROJ-007246 from the Operational Program South, the European Union, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Province of Noord-Brabant, and the municipality of Tilburg awarded to MML.

Funders
Virgin Islands Board of Education
European Commission
Ministerie van Economische Zaken

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title = "Corneal reflections and skin contrast yield better memory of human and virtual faces",

abstract = "Virtual faces have been found to be rated less human-like and remembered worse than photographic images of humans. What it is in virtual faces that yields reduced memory has so far remained unclear. The current study investigated face memory in the context of virtual agent faces and human faces, real and manipulated, considering two factors of predicted influence, i.e., corneal reflections and skin contrast. Corneal reflections referred to the bright points in each eye that occur when the ambient light reflects from the surface of the cornea. Skin contrast referred to the degree to which skin surface is rough versus smooth. We conducted two memory experiments, one with high-quality virtual agent faces (Experiment 1) and the other with the photographs of human faces that were manipulated (Experiment 2). Experiment 1 showed better memory for virtual faces with increased corneal reflections and skin contrast (rougher rather than smoother skin). Experiment 2 replicated these findings, showing that removing the corneal reflections and smoothening the skin reduced memory recognition of manipulated faces, with a stronger effect exerted by the eyes than the skin. This study highlights specific features of the eyes and skin that can help explain memory discrepancies between real and virtual faces and in turn elucidates the factors that play a role in the cognitive processing of faces.",

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Corneal reflections and skin contrast yield better memory of human and virtual faces

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