Cognitive Manners Connected with Appearance Acceptance - Essay Example

Running head: Psychology Psychology Name Institute Date Face Recognition Cognitive processes involved with face recognition Face recognition is important for identification of individuals in the social context as well as an essential social tool for human beings. There are numerous reasons why recognition is significant to people. First, it assists us to identify individuals that we can hang out with, those that we cannot hang out with in the world. Through socialization, human beings are able to continue to exist in the world. For instance, males are capable of identifying women to socialize with and even start relationships with, thus supporting generation continuity. Facial recognition also helps to build strong relationship and strengthen the bond between a child and a mother (Rakeover and Cahlon 2001). Face recognition also aids in communication. Human beings portray their emotional status through facial expressions such as smiling or crying. Therefore, face recognition can helps us gains information about an individual emotional status. Hence, as a result of the significance of face recognition, psychologists have been interested in studying the cognitive processes entailed in face recognition. This paper will analyze the processes and explain the roles of concepts and categorization in face recognition, identification and classification. It will also analyze the role of encoding and retrieval processes involved with long-term memory and how this affects face recognition. At the end, this paper will look into the different errors involved in face recognition (Leeland 2008). Processes associated with face recognition, identification, and classification Face recognition is the intrinsic ability of human beings. The most fundamental human function from time immemorial has been identification of persons. Face recognition entails many processes; however, cognitive processes are the major processes entailed in face recognition. Cognitive processes aids in storing data in the long term memory and retrieval of information. It also aids in matching data by means of structural encoding and retrieval processes (Rakeover and Cahlon 2001). There are two ways of identifying and classifying face recognition; first-order relational information and second-order relational information. The first method refers to information as regards the parts of an entity and how those parts are interrelated. The second method entails comparing the first-order analysis to facial characteristics of a typical face. These two ways serves to strengthen each other since the first-order is not sufficient for face recognition process and hence the second-order relational information step comes into play (Lauks 2003). Encoding and retrieval processes Face recognition relies mostly on encoding and retrieval processes. It is a general fact that the face characteristic or cues must first be encoded in an individual long term memory for that individual to be able to recognize the face. Hence, encoding processes aid in storing descriptions permanently in long-term memory in order to make it simple for retrieval, since it ensures that descriptions are encoded in an accurate way and data is not misplaced. We can confidently say that face encoding is prior to recognition action since data has to be encoded initially prior to recognition. Facial coding involves numerous steps and structural encoding forms the primary and initial step of facial coding. This first stage involves encoding image data from the face of an individual into functional data in the long-term memory. During the stage of facial recognition, this data serves as information bank to face recognition systems. Structural encoding is vital as it aids persons in encoding facial data and using it afterward to identify individuals (Li &Jain 2005). Encoding entails two processes; view-centered description and expression independent description. The first process is employed to encode chief facial features like adjustment in illumination degree and contrast. The data encoded in view centered descriptions is determined by the depiction of the face, which involves orientation, face size and degree of light. The second process is created by making use of the foundation of previous image depiction. It depicts conceptual descriptions of facial characteristics and of the identification of the entire features which are necessary for facial identification. The appearance of the face does not determine expression independent descriptions as the case in view centered descriptions. Expression independent descriptions are founded on the general features of the similar face that are obtainable from several perspectives (Rakeover and Cahlon 2001). Facial recognition is influenced by structural encoding in several ways. Structural encoding aids in corresponding data stored following encoding with recent data and if the two corresponds, then facial identification is said to occurs (Li &Jain 2005). The cognitive process matches up data send from expression independent description with data kept in face identification system. Face recognition is said to take place when the structural data of the intended face matches with the structural data of stored face. Therefore, structural encoding aids in face identification through matching comparable data. Retrieval processes are vital in long-term memory and facial identification. Retrieval processes helps in retrieving information stored in the long-term memory if it is situated or not distorted. In facial recognition, retrieval processes are vital as they aid in retrieving facial descriptions if they are simply situated. This takes place if data external to the permanent memory corresponds data that is retrieved (Lauks 2003). Encoding and retrieval procedures entailed with permanent memory affects face recognition. Face recognition declines with age. As individuals grow older, they experience difficulties while encoding and retrieval information. Concepts and categories Concepts and categories play diverse and significant parts in face identification. Individuals make use of concepts in diverse manners. Concepts can be used to support interaction and classification. Concepts are majorly utilized in classification. Classification is the method through which concepts are utilized to find out whether an individual belongs to a particular group or not. Classification plays a broad diversity of roles since classifying an entity as belonging to a particular group enable individuals to clarify concepts. Individuals can be able to use the knowledge appropriate to the entity to understand it only through categorizing such entity (Leeland 2008). Categorization of new entity is important as it helps individuals to improve their concepts. Hence, categorization enhances leaning since it assists individual in classifying entities by use concepts. We can therefore say that concept and categories work mutually to reinforce one another since concepts aid in classifying entities for identification and this enhances groups. Concepts and categories are both utilized in learning since they assist in detection. Moreover, concepts are used in interaction. The major role of concepts in interaction is helping in formation of the correct combination in order to come up with numerous latest concepts. This is significant as it assists individuals to converse clearly since they are organized and concur with one another. Concepts guarantee neutrality which helps in solving conflict in communication. In face recognition, concept and categories are used to assist in identification of individuals or objects. Concept assists individuals in identifying faces of diverse people and classifying them in correct categories according to facial features. For example, faces can be classified into categories such as age, race and sex among other. This makes it easier for individuals to identify and classify faces (Li &Jain 2005). Errors in face recognition There are numerous errors which can result from face recognition. Misidentification and self recognition are among these errors. It is possible for a person to identify someone wrongly in face recognition. This takes place when the data stored in the long-term memory is incorrectly retrieved and fails to correspond to the recent data. Inaccurate matching of data results into misidentification of entities as well as persons. Misidentification can also happen in learning and identification when concepts are utilized to categorize people or objects in wrong categories. This results in poor development of new concepts. Self recognition occurs when an individual is unable to identify his/her own face. This results into an error since the data stored in the permanent memory fails to match the data outside (Leeland 2008). Reference Lauks, J. (2003).Face recognition: the temporal association hypothesis: diploma thesis.J. Lauks Leeland, K. (2008).Face Recognition: New Research. Nova Publishers Li, S., &Jain, A. (2005).Handbook of face recognition. Springer Science & Business Rakover, S., &Cahlon, B. (2001).Face recognition: cognitive and computational processes. John Benjamins Publishing Company Read More