In a glance, observers can evaluate gist characteristics from crowds of faces, such as the average emotional tenor or the average family resemblance. Prior research suggests that high-level ensemble percepts rely on holistic and viewpoint-invariant information. However, it is also possible that feature-based analysis was sufficient to yield successful ensemble percepts in many situations. To confirm that ensemble percepts can be extracted holistically, we asked observers to report the average emotional valence of Mooney face crowds. Mooney faces are two-tone, shadow-defined images that cannot be recognized in a part-based manner. To recognize features in a Mooney face, one must first recognize the image as a face by processing it holistically. Across experiments, we demonstrated that observers successfully extracted the average emotional valence from crowds that were spatially distributed or viewed in a rapid temporal sequence. In a subsequent set of experiments, we maximized holistic processing by including only those Mooney faces that were difficult to recognize when inverted. Under these conditions, participants remained highly sensitive to the average emotional valence of Mooney face crowds. Taken together, these experiments provide evidence that ensemble perception can operate selectively on holistic representations of human faces, even when feature-based information is not readily available.

一目了然，观察者可以从大量面孔中评估要点特征，例如平均情绪基调或平均家庭相似度。先前的研究表明，高级集成感知依赖于整体和视点不变的信息。然而，基于特征的分析也有可能在许多情况下足以产生成功的集成感知。为了确认可以从整体上提取整体感知，我们要求观察者报告穆尼面部人群的平均情绪效价。穆尼脸是双色调、阴影定义的图像，无法以基于部分的方式识别。要识别穆尼人脸中的特征，首先必须通过整体处理将图像识别为人脸。通过实验，我们证明了观察者成功地从空间分布或以快速时间序列观察的人群中提取了平均情绪效价。在随后的一组实验中，我们通过仅包括那些在倒置时难以识别的穆尼脸来最大化整体处理。在这些条件下，参与者对穆尼面孔人群的平均情绪效价仍然高度敏感。总之，这些实验提供的证据表明，即使基于特征的信息不容易获得，集成感知也可以选择性地对人脸的整体表示进行操作。我们通过仅包含倒置时难以识别的穆尼脸来最大化整体处理。在这些条件下，参与者对穆尼面孔人群的平均情绪效价仍然高度敏感。总之，这些实验提供的证据表明，即使基于特征的信息不容易获得，集成感知也可以选择性地对人脸的整体表示进行操作。我们通过仅包含倒置时难以识别的穆尼脸来最大化整体处理。在这些条件下，参与者对穆尼面孔人群的平均情绪效价仍然高度敏感。总之，这些实验提供的证据表明，即使基于特征的信息不容易获得，集成感知也可以选择性地对人脸的整体表示进行操作。