Isn’t it strange how we remember all the minute details of the faces of the people we interact with or care about?
Are you not intrigued by the subtleties of these faces, or at least some of them? In this instance I am approaching this topic from both psychological aspect and as a result of social-personal/emotional observation. When you describe a face does it come alive for you in your mind? Are you surprised by how much you actually remember?
An example of this may be the observation of a freckly-like birth mark on the bottom left of somebody’s chin, an unusual discovery perhaps but intriguing wouldn’t you say? Perhaps this aspect was identified as this person’s individual defining feature (IDF) in comparison to other people known to the observer. Maybe this aspect made an observer smile, eliciting a positive emotional response or maybe the observer was just in such close proximity that this feature became apparent, purely through observation as a proximal identification.
The above example demonstrates proximal identification but what about from a distance? What about abstract identification? Is there a defining feature which can draw the attention from across a room? Perhaps the person is wearing brightly coloured clothes, but then these change so clothes can not be a direct, permanent identifier, although they may lead to a conclusion as to the type of personality the observed possess. So, a permanent feature would seem the best option for identification at distance. A feature that, for the most part, changes gradually over time. Hair styles seem to me the obvious abstract identifier that all people have. A unique hairstyle can draw the attention of an onlooker indefinitely. Not to say that a common hairstyle would not but as human beings we tend to pay more attention to unfamiliar things, a result of our evolution.
To highlight, look at this scenario. You are in a room full of people, a sixth form common room say where perhaps 2% have really interesting/unfamiliar hairstyles in comparison to the social norm. The chance is that you will focus upon one individual within this 2% bracket, the hairstyle that intrigues you most. So, say a group of girls, incorporating a majority of blonde and brunette hairstyles, either a long cut, ponytail, tight curls etc. Within this group is a single individual with dark hair, a comparatively short, choppy cut, in complete contrast to those around her. Now, who is your attention going to fall on? Conformist blonde or choppy, dark style? (completely based up on hairstyles, do not take in to account other imaginary aesthetic features). For the majority, I would guarantee that the individual would stand out substantially, even if your attention was focused on her for only a few seconds more than the others in the group. This is normally more than enough time to assimilate a memory of this person, whether short term or long term. Based upon this memory we decide whether we like this person, a split second, more often than not. Either way, she captured your attention and you have no say in that really, let’s be honest.
I have explored the aspects of proximal and abstract identification, extremes in facial memory and recognition. What about the distance between the proximal and the abstract? Without the abstract we very occasionally enter the proximal, based upon the forming of new relationships. So is there a dynamic identifier? A feature which transcends the distance between the two that leaves a lasting expression? Perhaps on an individual basis, maybe a limp attracts your attention as a result of a recent fall down a flight of stairs. Certainly an ice-breaker but far too individualistic to
Perhaps, a more easily generalisable identifier would be the eyes of a person. So let’s say you’ve seen the choppy, style girl and you’ve caught her attention. What is the next thing you see? Her eyes. How else have you caught her attention from a distance? You see the eyes are not abstract identifiers as they initiate the move toward a proximal position of interaction. So, you have made eye contact, maybe smiled a little, and you can see that her eyes are an intriguing shade of brown perhaps. As she moves closer, you begin to notice the shape of the eye, then a hint of her personality in her stare, the fire and passion behind her ‘soul’ if you will. This leads you to the proximal observation where you notice the freckly-like birth mark on her chin.
Social interaction on the whole is obviously more complex than this and hopefully I’ll explore in more detail with more examples, and perhaps some research to back it up. At the minute it’s a theory in the making. For now, this blog can serve as a means to express and explore society as a wider model until I actually get to university and play with the fMRI machine to study the subtleties of face recognition and social interaction.
