A continuing question in the object recognition literature is whether surface properties play a role in visual representation and recognition. Here, we examined the use of color as a cue in facial gender recognition by applying a version of reverse correlation to face categorization in CIE L∗a∗b∗ color space. We found that observers exploited color information to classify ambiguous signals embedded in chromatic noise. The method also allowed us to identify the specific spatial locations and the components of color used by observers. Although the color patterns found with human observers did not accurately mirror objective natural color differences, they suggest sensitivity to the contrast between the main features and the rest of the face. Overall, the results provide evidence that observers encode and can use the local color properties of faces, in particular, in tasks in which color provides diagnostic information and the availability of other cues is reduced.

中文翻译：

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使用颜色的人脸性别识别

物体识别文献中的一个持续问题是表面特性是否在视觉表示和识别中起作用。在这里，我们通过将反向相关版本应用于 CIE L*a*b* 颜色空间中的面部分类，检查了在面部性别识别中使用颜色作为线索。我们发现观察者利用颜色信息对嵌入在色度噪声中的模糊信号进行分类。该方法还使我们能够识别特定的空间位置和观察者使用的颜色成分。尽管人类观察者发现的颜色模式并不能准确反映客观的自然颜色差异，但它们表明对主要特征和面部其他部分之间的对比度很敏感。总体而言，结果证明观察者可以编码并使用面部的局部颜色属性，