臉孔典型性對美醜知覺的影響

Abstract

藝術理論有此一說，「不美」並不等同於「醜」，「不美」可能只是不起眼。本論文研究臉部吸引力背後的認知機制，探討「美」和「醜」的是否屬於不同的類別，或是屬於單一類別中的兩個概念。研究透過兩個實驗來檢驗「美」與「醜」之間的關係，並評估臉部吸引力的判斷是否和臉部辨識一樣，使用整體性處理，還是使用分析性處理。實驗一的結果顯示「美」與「醜」在同一類別內，挑戰了將「醜」視為與「美」不同的類別的藝術理論。實驗二則使用多維度訊號偵測模型，分析上半臉和下半臉對吸引力判斷的影響。結果表明，臉部吸引力判斷主要是分析性的，半臉之間的交互作用有限。臉與一個原型臉的差距，足以解釋吸引力。這些發現增進了對臉部感知的理論理解，並挑戰「美」與「醜」之間的差異。

Within theories of art, it is suggested that the absence of beauty does not equate to ugliness, but merely unremarkable. This thesis investigates the cognitive mechanisms underlying facial attractiveness judgments, exploring whether judgments of “beauty” and “ugliness” represent distinct categories or are points along a single continuum. With two experiments, the study examines the relationship between facial beauty and ugliness and evaluates whether facial attractiveness judgments rely on holistic or analytic processing as theorized in facial recognition. Experiment 1 uses psychophysics to reveal that beauty and ugliness align within the same dimension, challenging the art theory that posits ugliness as a distinct category from beauty. Experiment 2 uses the multidimensional signal detection model to analyze how upper and lower face halves each contribute to the judgement of facial attractiveness. Contrary to present studies in facial recognition, results indicate that facial attractiveness judgments are primarily analytic, with limited interaction between face halves. Furthermore, deviations from a single prototype face are sufficient to explain facial attractiveness. These findings refine theoretical frameworks in face perception, providing insights into how humans evaluate facial attractiveness and further challenging distinctions between beauty and ugliness.