Recognizing Facial Identity

Adults recognize hundreds of familiar faces at a glance: a neighbor both at the gym and in wedding photos; actors in numerous movies, despite dramatic variability in their appearance; a high school classmate at a twenty-fifth reunion—despite physical changes associated with aging. What makes this ability so remarkable is that faces are a homogeneous class of stimuli—increasing both the challenge of telling faces apart and of recognizing someone despite changes in appearance. Here we focus on the development of the ability to recognize facial identity, underlying mechanisms, and the role of experience. We focus on behavioral development but sample the neuroscience literature when doing so is helpful. We begin with a brief synopsis of adults’ abilities, followed by a discussion of changes in these abilities during infancy and childhood.