'VISAGES': A COMPUTER-BASED TEST OF FACE PRECOGNITION (MARIO VARVOGLIS & MICHEL-ANGE AMORIM)

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• Collection: STARGATE
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP96-00792R000700610002-2
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• Document Creation Date: November 4, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 11, 2000
• Sequence Number: 2
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"VISAGES": A COMPUTER-BASED TEST
OF FACE PRECOGNITION
MARIO VARVOGLIS1& MICHEL-ANGE AMORIM
LABORATOIRE DE RECHERCHE SUR LES INTERACTIONS PSI
A computer-based psi experiment was conducted to explore
whether subjects could precogniZe the features of a random]
randomly
composed face. The experiment was based upon a subset of the
Photo fit" Kit used by
characteristics of a misinice to help identify the facial
s
subjects participated, each contr butinr a criminal. Ft
runs (16 trials), g minimum of f foour
r
Subjects were presented with 4 tar et
16 different Instances of a g packs each containing
nose, mouth and facial-outliner with hair). ThefInstancesyfor
each element were grouped, so as to
degrees of resemblance between them, and, heng e, between the
subject's choice and the target.
There were two task-modalities. In the Scanning psi task
instances were arranged as a 4 x 4 Image arra
subject to consciously choose a Y. allowing the
computer "mouse". In the Timin
g particular image using the
presented in a rapidly shiftin psi task, the images were
could only choose when to sto g sequence; here the subject
mouse. Once the subject had chosen all elementstof"thetface,
the program randomly selected an Instance for each of the
four elements, constructed the target face, and r
to the subject, presented it
Results were evaluated through comparing the obtained distribution ofgoodn
hits,sfor 5 different
levels of scoring, against the expected distribution. The
test yielded a significant chi-square for
experimental condition (p_,015)
simulation stud and chance results fort the
Y. Further analyses, examining scoring
under
the two different task-modalities, chi-square for the Timing task modaliyielded lone a( signifiucant
p=.006),
329
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The possibility of applied parapsychological research has
been receiving considerable attention In recent years, both
In the U.S. (Agor, 1984; Harary, Targ and White, 1985;
Mishlove, 1986; Morris, 1986) and In Europe (Amorim, In
press). An application which seems to hold particular
promise Is the use of psi to help locate missing persons or
identify criminals. A number of popular or semi-popular
accounts have referred to Instances In which psychics helped
the police, but little has been done by way of experimental
research. One of the few systematic investigations in this
area is reported by Reiser et al (1979) who presented 12
psychics with sealed envelopes containing Information on two
solved and two unsolved crimes. According to the authors,
the elicited "psychic Impressions" offered little support
for the claim that psychics could contribute Information
necessary for the resolution of crimes. However, in their
book "Psychic Criminology", Hibbard & Worring (1982) cite a
number of cases resolved with the help of psychics, and
criticize the Reiser et al approach as being Insensitive to
psychological and interpersonal factors. Osis (1984) also
cites numerous cases resolved with the help of psychics, and
emphasizes the difficulties involved in attempting to
address this topic In laboratory contexts.
It is clear that the motivational characteristics of real-
life situations cannot be reproduced In the artificiality of
laboratory contexts. On the; other hand, even If it Is impos-
sible to recreate the motivational dynamics of real-life
psychic criminology, laboratory experimentation could
explore certain facets of this area. One such facet is the
Identification of an Individual. In many crimes, police rely
upon eyewitnesses to try.:.to reconstruct the facial characte-
ristics of the criminal. However, witnesses may not be avai-
lable, or may be unreliable. Can "psychic witnesses" be
reliably used to Identify the facial characteristics of an
unknown person?
The exploration of facial characteristics as psi targetd is
also Interesting in and of Itself, Independently of any
Immediate applications. Our perception of the face appears
to be a very basic process In human beings; like language,
it may constitute an Inborn, "hardwired" function, rather
than being an acquired capacity. Could the fact that we are
"primed" toward face-recognition translate Into a special
sensitivity toward face -precognition or -clairvoyance? If
experimental data were to indicate that faces constitute
unusually good psi targets, then this would lend some
credence to the Idea that psi capacities are tied in to
basic neurophysiological_and cognitive functions.
The current study, then, was conceived as a preliminary step
In exploring the use of faces as psi-targets. Specifically,
we explored "face precognition" through a computer-based
version of the "Photo-fit" Kit, employed by police to Inter-
rogate eyewitnesses, and explored in a number of investiga-
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would orient the person's psi toward
whole face, rather than an Isolated feature.
tions of face recall and recognition (e.g., Ellis, Sheperd &
Davies, 1975; Sergent, 1984). This kit contains a very wide
range of noses, eyes, mouths, jaws, etc., drawn on transpa-
rencies; It thus allows an Interviewer to "mix and match"
different instances of facial features, so as to
approximate the face recalled by a witness.
_n our study, we selected a subset-of facial features (face-
outline, eyes, nose, mouth) and a small subset of Instances
for each feature, and passed these into the computer, Then,
we created a program which can randomly mix and match these
instances, and compose a face. The subject's task was to
attempt to choose the facial characteristics which would
r.ost approximate the features of the computer-chosen face.
:respite certain superficial similarities, however, this task
-;as not quite analogous to psychic criminology. For one
thing, we used "normal" (rather than special) subjects.
=_:so, the psi task was "elementaristic" in nature, insofar
as subjects would be focusing upon facial features, rather
:-an attempting to precognize the face as a whole. Some
researchers (e.g., Ellis, 1975; Sergent, 1984) suggest that
octant facets of face perception are holistic, and are
..st captured by elementaristic approaches. In order to
compensate somewhat for this problem, we decided not to
provide "piecemeal" feedback following each trial, but give
feedback only once the entire face has been composed (i.e.,
after all four elements have been chosen). Though subjects
o~:d still make their selections one feature at a time, at
:east the moment of feedback would involve a holistic
=arception; If precognitive Information derives from this
feedback point then it
more important deviation from psychic crimi 1
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W e sub,~ect is free to choose among the
"I' bilities, we decided to add a psi-task modalit In
the ub Le t c
='=poach, was that the experimental context Included,noneoof
human elements which lend meaning and significance to
=`e task In real life. Rather, It Involved guessing the
features of a fictional face, one stripped of any meaningful
cescriptors or history. To address this, we sought to give
t`e fictional target-face some Identity, associating it with
randomly selected name and biography; these were derived
=rte a large pool of possibilities. The relevance of this
=eaningfulness" device was to be explored by comparing
fi-:;ect scoring with the biography present vs. absent.
'=,c=her factor explored, "psi - task modality", was meant to
4.: ess the potential problem of response biases. There is
%' :e doubt that, to different degrees, we are attracted or
re:led by different faces (or facial characteristics). In
d =si task in which subjects can freely choose from among
4= possibilities within a target `"cars could easily drown out subtlek~ such aesthetic
`e ac ng people to choose Images they like psi Information, a those
t`~,edislike. As It seemed that this could not be completely
Arc- Zed as l on as 4- 1,
 This second modality was a "timing" psi task, demanding of
the the subject only a decision as to when to stop a rapidly
changing "Image roulette containing all possibilities.
Thus, there were two task-modalities: one based upon the
implicit question "when is the target passing by" (the
timing task), the other based upon the question "where Is
the target", and Involving the usual scanning of possibi-
lities in order to make a choice (the scanning task).
METHOD
The subjects of this study were 35 female and 5 male
volunteers, ranging In age from 19 to 59 years old. Thirty
four of these participants'- came to the laboratory following
an article In a popular woman's magazine, which presented
the laboratory's computer-based psi research. The remaining
6 subjects were either acquaintances, or had heard about the
laboratory through acquaintances. Personal and psychological
data on all subjects were collected using french versions of
the Personal Inventory Form (PIF) and the Myers-Briggs-Type-
Inventory (MBTI); these data have not yet been analyzed.
The experiment was run using an Amiga 1000 with a color
monitor, two disk-drives, a 2-megabyte random-access memory
extension, and a "mouse" for subject inputs. The transfer of
Photo-fit images into the computer was accomplished using a
surveillance camera and an Interface which permits the
"digitization" of video inputs.
The program controlling the present experiment was based
upon a compiler-language named "The Director", similar to
BASIC, but explicitly oriented toward graphics- and sound-
manipulations.
Pseudo-Random function: The random numbers for the program
are generated by the Director language's pseudo-random
function, reseeded every cycle by the Amiga clock (read in
in micro-seconds). A "Cyclic Redundancy Check" scheme
scrambles the clock values and ensures the adequacy of the
random distribution. In a personal communication, the
creator of the Director language stated that tests of the
random function have shown that it yields the expected range
and frequency of values. While no detailed assessment of the
random function was undertaken by the experimenter, a one-
line program was written to at least ensure that the
function was reseeded each ~~time time. Rugn~ imm-medi at ley, after the
Ap acq'~6496r ~ ue 96 226A'6 J 9 ct7ttani-R1W"~ nd'ee9 ye1 ng0~1 se'eoed,
yielding different number sequences each time It was run.
332.
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1' V1 sagee" program: The
the Vl sagr pt c cry ri i t o
first author, presents subjects with n 4t; graphic ,cI,t;en by
packs, each containing 16 distinct Instances of a facial
element, and, on the basis of the subject's choices,
Progressively constructs a graphic face.
subject Is satisfied with the face as conThen, onc the
structed, the
program uses the Amiga's pseudo-random function four times,
selecting, for each facial element, one of 16
instances
measures o the program calculates feedback scores
and the random! Proximity between the subject-chosen
provides feedbacky (sh wing ,thee target-facees
andth
the rsco ore) e) ,
and offers the subject options to continue or sc,
quit.
A slightly modified version of the
control or "simulation" trials, 1pram no wh the no ssubjectleis
present. The program essentially creates two faces, on the
basis of two sets of random numbers; the first set substi-
tutes for the subject's guesses, while the second defines
the target face as described above.
A more detailed description of the
given I n the Target-preparation and Pro edure scpe nsl.on i s
Target-preparation
The Target pool was based upon a
fit Kit, kindly provided by Portion of the Penry Photo-
the tal olic of
Paris (MInistere de l'Interie
ur)Ceinrphotocopy form. tmeThent
kit
involves transparencies showing different male facial ele-
ments (eyes, noses, mouths, etc.);
combined and mixed, and so as to these can be freely
of possible male facial t produce a very wide range
Ypes.
Four facial elements were used for this study: mouth, and facial outline (showing hair, forehead yand nawe.
To select from among the many instances jaw). pro
our subjective judgement and several criteriav;ided, we p
le,
selection of as wide a range of characteristics aspo ssmb,
for each facial element and avoidance of facial charracteri-
stics which are too striking or weird. We then passed this
subset of photo-fit images Into the computer through a
"digitization" process, and each digitized Image was treated
with diverse computer graphic tools, definition and clarity. Then, for each element, twe selected
16 different Instances (I.e., sixteen noses, sixteen mouths,
etc.), and arranged these images into 4 computer bit-map
screens or "pageS", which would serve as target packs these pages are Illustrated in Figures 1 and 2)s (Two
The 16 instances of each page were arranged In a
array, images being grouped according to different levels of
resemblance between them. Taking Figure 1 as an example, we
see that the top two rows are distinguishable from the
bottom two ("little hair" vs.
of hair"). }Then, the 4
Instances of a facial element ,1p
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333 a a s opt hair,
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Figure 1. 'target pack for
face-outline
Figure 3. Face with three
elements selected
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full hair and long-hair). Finally, within each row, 2
are distinguishable (e.g., In row D, D1 / D2 and D3 / Dgrups
4).
The Idea behind this arrangment was to create a
which could allow for different degrees of psi task
psi -accurac
-resolution - from vague feelings to detail
ed Information.
The scoring scheme, accordingly, was meant to reflect dif-
ferent degrees of resemblance between subjects' choices and
the target image. For example, let us assume that the target
for facial-outline were D2. Selection of any instance within
row C - the other row of the same half-page - Implies having
correctly identified that the target-face generally has
"lots of hair"; this would be a "half-page" hit. Selecting
D3 or D4 - the other pair on the same row, or a "row" hit -
implies having identified the target face as having specifi-
cally long hair. Selecting D1, the other member of the pair,
would be a "pair" hit - whereby the subject has found the
instance which most resembles the actual target. Selecting
D2, of course, is a direct hit.
As mentioned in the Introduction, the target face was
accompanied by a name and, in half the trials, a biography.
The names were drawn from a file containing 80 names com-
monly found in France. The biography was drawn from a second
file, containing 200 statements, organized Into 10 theme-
related groups (sports and leisure, living quarters, child-
hood and education, mood and tenhperament, social life, para-
normal experiences, reactions to world events, beliefs and
philosophy, favorite sayings, health).
Procedure
Upon arrival at the laboratory and preliminary exchanges,
the subject was placed in front of the Amiga, and Instructed
on the utilisatlon of the mouse. The subject then took
computer-based (French) versions of the PRL Personal
Inventory Form (PIF) and the Myers-Briggs-Type-Inventory
(MBTI). Following feedback on the MBTI, the subject was
switched to the Apple-based computer-RNG test "Volition".
Then, after a minimum of two Volition runs, the subject was
brought back to the Amiga, for the Visages precognition
test; the experimenter remained present throughout the
Visages session.
The subject was told that, unlike Volition, the Visages test
was geared toward receptive psi. It was explained that the
computer would create a face, randomly selecting instances
for the four facial elements; the person was asked to use
their intuition to guess which instances of each element
would be selected by the computer. It was emphasized that
the computer would not select those Instances on the basis
of any aesthetic criteria, but on the basis of random
decisions.
The run, consisting of four trials (one for each facial
element), begins with the presentation of a Menu on the
monitor screen, naming the four elements as "Hair" "
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"lio e" , 'Lips'', The program awaits the subject's selection
of one of these, using the mouse. (For the first run, the
experimenter encouraged the subject to start with face-
outline, and progressively fill in the other elements of the
face). Once an element Is selected, the computer presents
the subject with the target pack, i.e., the 16 Instances of
that element.
Depending on the psi-task modality, the target-pack is
presented in one of two different ways. In the scanning
condition, all 16 possibilities are present on the screen
simultaneously, arranged in the 4x4 array described above;
the person uses the mouse to place the cursor over one of
these 16 instances and then "clicks" to select it. In the
timing condition, only one of the 16 instances Is visible on
the screeen at any moment; the Images succeed each other
very rapidly in a random sequence (giving the impression of
a nose changing shape, a mouth talking, etc.), and selection
is made by clicking on the mouse and stopping the "image
roulette" at some particular image. The image actually
selected, however, is not the one last seen by the subject,
but rather one which is randomly generated just after mouse
input; irrespective of how fast their reaction time might
be, subjects cannot consciously select a particular target.
The order of task presentation, fixed across subjects, was
based upon a predetermined schedule allowing for different
permutations of the biog_rahpy and task-modality variables.
The first four runs were scanning/biography, scanning/no
biography, timing/biography, timing/no biography.
In both scanning and timing modes, the specific instance
chosen by the person is immediately added to those
previously selected. Thus, as subjects proceed through the
four facial elements and select a particular face-outline,
set of eyes, nose, and mouth, they see the face being
constructed. (Figure 3 Illustrates a face with three
features already chosen and lips not yet selected). The
on construction rface depends not upon the placement
but
feature chosen face
upon predefined coordinates.
Following the subject's selection of all four elements, and
thus the completion of the face, the individual Is presented
with options 5:"Review Face", and 6:"See target". Option 5
allows subjects to review the face constructed, In case
they've changed their mind about a particular selection (in
which case, they can re-initiate the selection process by
clicking on the corresponding number In the Menu).
Option number 6, once clicked, launches the construction of
the target face. The program generates four random numbers,
between 1 and 16, each corresponding to a particular
instance of the four features. The program also randomly
selects a name out of the name-file, and, In the "biography"
condition, constructs a biography by randomly selecting 6
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the target face on the screen, along with a name, a graphic
"button" for re-viewing the subject-chosen face, and another
button for reading the biography