ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the relative importance for facial identification of the overall configuration of a face versus its individual components. J. Sergent's arguments have been levelled mostly at various laterality effects which have been reported in face processing, and she also uses them to interpret patterns of apparently face-specific deficit following brain damage. There have been a number of claims that the information needed to recognise a face is contained largely within the low spatial frequency domain. M. L. Matthews claimed to have demonstrated parallel processing of some facial features in same/different judgements of pairs of Identikit faces. The skilled caricature artist seems to capture, with a few pencil strokes, some definitive representation of a celebrity's face. The chapter concludes that both contribute to face perception, though variations will be observed depending on the demands of the task in question.
