Abstract

Low-vision patients, especially those with acuity losses associated with central field defects, often complain about the inability to recognize faces. It is important in the provision of low-vision care to be able to identify the various parameters (visual skills) involved in the facial recognition task. This investigation tried to isolate the visual parameter of peripheral viewing as it relates to the facial recognition. Normal subjects were presented photographs of faces at 15° nasal to the fovea. The subject’s task was to identify the face from a group of thirty photographs viewed foveally. The results of the study were subjects who were not familiar with the faces identified an average of 12 out of 20 (62.2% ± 3.2%) faces correctly where subjects who were familiar with the faces identified an average of 17 out of 20 (85. ± 2.4%) faces correctly. This indicates that if the low-vision patient is familiar with the face other parameters than peripheral viewing are responsible for the facial recognition problem.

© 1985 Optical Society of America