@article{blais_conducting_2025,

title = {Conducting online visual psychophysics experiments: A replication assessment of two face processing studies},

author = {C. Blais and D. Fiset and L. Côté and V. Ledrou-Paquet and I. Charbonneau},

url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-105004807446&doi=10.1016%2fj.visres.2025.108617&partnerID=40&md5=771b056e57c4d7a34ff7c56ce39a4bd2},

doi = {10.1016/j.visres.2025.108617},

issn = {00426989 (ISSN)},

year  = {2025},

date = {2025-01-01},

journal = {Vision Research},

volume = {233},

publisher = {Elsevier Ltd},

abstract = {In vision sciences, researchers rigorously control the testing environment and the physical properties of stimuli, making it challenging to conduct visual perception experiments online. However, online research offers key advantages, including access to larger and more diverse participant samples, helping to address the problem of underpowered studies and to enhance the generalizability of results. In face recognition research, increasing diversity is essential, especially considering evidence that cultural and geographical factors influence basic visual face processing. The present study tested a new online platform, Pack & Go from VPixx Technologies, that supports experiments written in MATLAB and Python. Two face recognition experiments based on a data-driven psychophysical method involving real-time stimulus manipulation and relying on functions from the Psychtoolbox were tested. In Experiment 1, the visual information used for face recognition was compared across four conditions that gradually reduced experimental control over the testing environment and stimulus properties. In Experiment 2, the association between face recognition abilities and information utilization was measured online and compared to lab-based results. In both experiments, results obtained in the lab and online were highly similar, demonstrating the potential of online research for vision science. © 2025 The Author(s)},

note = {Publisher: Elsevier Ltd},

keywords = {adult, article, cultural factor, experiment, Facial Recognition, female, geography, human, human experiment, Humans, information processing, laboratory, male, normal human, online system, Photic Stimulation, photostimulation, physiology, procedures, psychology, Psychophysics, recognition, stimulus response, vision, visual stimulation, Young Adult},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{blaisConductingOnlineVisual2025a,

title = {Conducting online visual psychophysics experiments: A replication assessment of two face processing studies},

author = {C. Blais and D. Fiset and L. Côté and V. Ledrou-Paquet and I. Charbonneau},

url = {https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105004807446?origin=resultslist},

doi = {10.1016/j.visres.2025.108617},

issn = {00426989 (ISSN)},

year  = {2025},

date = {2025-01-01},

journal = {Vision Research},

volume = {233},

publisher = {Elsevier Ltd},

abstract = {In vision sciences, researchers rigorously control the testing environment and the physical properties of stimuli, making it challenging to conduct visual perception experiments online. However, online research offers key advantages, including access to larger and more diverse participant samples, helping to address the problem of underpowered studies and to enhance the generalizability of results. In face recognition research, increasing diversity is essential, especially considering evidence that cultural and geographical factors influence basic visual face processing. The present study tested a new online platform, Pack & Go from VPixx Technologies, that supports experiments written in MATLAB and Python. Two face recognition experiments based on a data-driven psychophysical method involving real-time stimulus manipulation and relying on functions from the Psychtoolbox were tested. In Experiment 1, the visual information used for face recognition was compared across four conditions that gradually reduced experimental control over the testing environment and stimulus properties. In Experiment 2, the association between face recognition abilities and information utilization was measured online and compared to lab-based results. In both experiments, results obtained in the lab and online were highly similar, demonstrating the potential of online research for vision science. © 2025 The Author(s)},

keywords = {adult, article, cultural factor, experiment, Facial Recognition, female, geography, human, human experiment, Humans, information processing, laboratory, male, normal human, online system, Photic Stimulation, photostimulation, physiology, procedures, psychology, Psychophysics, recognition, stimulus response, vision, visual stimulation, Young Adult},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{blaisConductingOnlineVisual2025b,

title = {Conducting online visual psychophysics experiments: A replication assessment of two face processing studies},

author = {C. Blais and D. Fiset and L. Côté and V. Ledrou-Paquet and I. Charbonneau},

url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-105004807446&doi=10.1016%2Fj.visres.2025.108617&partnerID=40&md5=6f27d81d289529b733b5aa0b03634f27},

doi = {10.1016/j.visres.2025.108617},

issn = {00426989 (ISSN)},

year  = {2025},

date = {2025-01-01},

journal = {Vision Research},

volume = {233},

abstract = {In vision sciences, researchers rigorously control the testing environment and the physical properties of stimuli, making it challenging to conduct visual perception experiments online. However, online research offers key advantages, including access to larger and more diverse participant samples, helping to address the problem of underpowered studies and to enhance the generalizability of results. In face recognition research, increasing diversity is essential, especially considering evidence that cultural and geographical factors influence basic visual face processing. The present study tested a new online platform, Pack & Go from VPixx Technologies, that supports experiments written in MATLAB and Python. Two face recognition experiments based on a data-driven psychophysical method involving real-time stimulus manipulation and relying on functions from the Psychtoolbox were tested. In Experiment 1, the visual information used for face recognition was compared across four conditions that gradually reduced experimental control over the testing environment and stimulus properties. In Experiment 2, the association between face recognition abilities and information utilization was measured online and compared to lab-based results. In both experiments, results obtained in the lab and online were highly similar, demonstrating the potential of online research for vision science. © 2025 The Author(s)},

keywords = {adult, article, cultural factor, experiment, Facial Recognition, female, geography, human, human experiment, Humans, information processing, laboratory, male, normal human, online system, Photic Stimulation, photostimulation, physiology, procedures, psychology, Psychophysics, recognition, stimulus response, vision, visual stimulation, Young Adult},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{blaisConductingOnlineVisual2025,

title = {Conducting online visual psychophysics experiments: A replication assessment of two face processing studies},

author = {C. Blais and D. Fiset and L. Côté and V. Ledrou-Paquet and I. Charbonneau},

url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-105004807446&doi=10.1016%2fj.visres.2025.108617&partnerID=40&md5=771b056e57c4d7a34ff7c56ce39a4bd2},

doi = {10.1016/j.visres.2025.108617},

issn = {00426989 (ISSN)},

year  = {2025},

date = {2025-01-01},

journal = {Vision Research},

volume = {233},

publisher = {Elsevier Ltd},

abstract = {In vision sciences, researchers rigorously control the testing environment and the physical properties of stimuli, making it challenging to conduct visual perception experiments online. However, online research offers key advantages, including access to larger and more diverse participant samples, helping to address the problem of underpowered studies and to enhance the generalizability of results. In face recognition research, increasing diversity is essential, especially considering evidence that cultural and geographical factors influence basic visual face processing. The present study tested a new online platform, Pack & Go from VPixx Technologies, that supports experiments written in MATLAB and Python. Two face recognition experiments based on a data-driven psychophysical method involving real-time stimulus manipulation and relying on functions from the Psychtoolbox were tested. In Experiment 1, the visual information used for face recognition was compared across four conditions that gradually reduced experimental control over the testing environment and stimulus properties. In Experiment 2, the association between face recognition abilities and information utilization was measured online and compared to lab-based results. In both experiments, results obtained in the lab and online were highly similar, demonstrating the potential of online research for vision science. © 2025 The Author(s)},

keywords = {adult, article, cultural factor, experiment, Facial Recognition, female, geography, human, human experiment, Humans, information processing, laboratory, male, normal human, online system, Photic Stimulation, photostimulation, physiology, procedures, psychology, Psychophysics, recognition, stimulus response, vision, visual stimulation, Young Adult},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{royer_efficient_2016,

title = {Efficient visual information for unfamiliar face matching despite viewpoint variations: It's not in the eyes!},

author = {J. Royer and C. Blais and V. Barnabé-Lortie and M. Carré and J. Leclerc and D. Fiset},

url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84968779426&doi=10.1016%2fj.visres.2016.04.004&partnerID=40&md5=4c63f6eea279f7322c9af23ae9ed22c1},

doi = {10.1016/j.visres.2016.04.004},

issn = {00426989 (ISSN)},

year  = {2016},

date = {2016-01-01},

journal = {Vision Research},

volume = {123},

pages = {33–40},

publisher = {Elsevier Ltd},

abstract = {Faces are encountered in highly diverse angles in real-world settings. Despite this considerable diversity, most individuals are able to easily recognize familiar faces. The vast majority of studies in the field of face recognition have nonetheless focused almost exclusively on frontal views of faces. Indeed, a number of authors have investigated the diagnostic facial features for the recognition of frontal views of faces previously encoded in this same view. However, the nature of the information useful for identity matching when the encoded face and test face differ in viewing angle remains mostly unexplored. The present study addresses this issue using individual differences and bubbles, a method that pinpoints the facial features effectively used in a visual categorization task. Our results indicate that the use of features located in the center of the face, the lower left portion of the nose area and the center of the mouth, are significantly associated with individual efficiency to generalize a face's identity across different viewpoints. However, as faces become more familiar, the reliance on this area decreases, while the diagnosticity of the eye region increases. This suggests that a certain distinction can be made between the visual mechanisms subtending viewpoint invariance and face recognition in the case of unfamiliar face identification. Our results further support the idea that the eye area may only come into play when the face stimulus is particularly familiar to the observer. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd.},

note = {Publisher: Elsevier Ltd},

keywords = {accuracy, adult, article, association, attention, Bubbles, Evoked Potentials, eye fixation, Face, face profile, face recognition, Facial Recognition, facies, female, Fixation, human, human experiment, Humans, Image analysis, Individual differences, male, Ocular, Pattern Recognition, Photic Stimulation, photostimulation, physiology, priority journal, procedures, Psychophysics, recognition, Recognition (Psychology), regression analysis, task performance, unfamiliar face matching, viewpoint variation, Viewpoint variations, Visual, visual discrimination, visual evoked potential, visual information, visual memory, visual stimulation, visual system parameters, Young Adult},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{royerEfficientVisualInformation2016,

title = {Efficient visual information for unfamiliar face matching despite viewpoint variations: It's not in the eyes!},

author = {J. Royer and C. Blais and V. Barnabé-Lortie and M. Carré and J. Leclerc and D. Fiset},

url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84968779426&doi=10.1016%2fj.visres.2016.04.004&partnerID=40&md5=4c63f6eea279f7322c9af23ae9ed22c1},

doi = {10.1016/j.visres.2016.04.004},

issn = {00426989 (ISSN)},

year  = {2016},

date = {2016-01-01},

journal = {Vision Research},

volume = {123},

pages = {33–40},

publisher = {Elsevier Ltd},

abstract = {Faces are encountered in highly diverse angles in real-world settings. Despite this considerable diversity, most individuals are able to easily recognize familiar faces. The vast majority of studies in the field of face recognition have nonetheless focused almost exclusively on frontal views of faces. Indeed, a number of authors have investigated the diagnostic facial features for the recognition of frontal views of faces previously encoded in this same view. However, the nature of the information useful for identity matching when the encoded face and test face differ in viewing angle remains mostly unexplored. The present study addresses this issue using individual differences and bubbles, a method that pinpoints the facial features effectively used in a visual categorization task. Our results indicate that the use of features located in the center of the face, the lower left portion of the nose area and the center of the mouth, are significantly associated with individual efficiency to generalize a face's identity across different viewpoints. However, as faces become more familiar, the reliance on this area decreases, while the diagnosticity of the eye region increases. This suggests that a certain distinction can be made between the visual mechanisms subtending viewpoint invariance and face recognition in the case of unfamiliar face identification. Our results further support the idea that the eye area may only come into play when the face stimulus is particularly familiar to the observer. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd.},

keywords = {accuracy, adult, article, association, attention, Bubbles, Evoked Potentials, eye fixation, Face, face profile, face recognition, Facial Recognition, facies, female, Fixation, human, human experiment, Humans, Image analysis, Individual differences, male, Ocular, Pattern Recognition, Photic Stimulation, photostimulation, physiology, priority journal, procedures, Psychophysics, recognition, Recognition (Psychology), regression analysis, task performance, unfamiliar face matching, viewpoint variation, Viewpoint variations, Visual, visual discrimination, visual evoked potential, visual information, visual memory, visual stimulation, visual system parameters, Young Adult},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{roy_efficient_2015,

title = {Efficient information for recognizing pain in facial expressions},

author = {C. Roy and C. Blais and D. Fiset and P. Rainville and F. Gosselin},

url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84929122739&doi=10.1002%2fejp.676&partnerID=40&md5=027f6da7b6d5c98c86de6a07766fb83d},

doi = {10.1002/ejp.676},

issn = {10903801 (ISSN)},

year  = {2015},

date = {2015-01-01},

journal = {European Journal of Pain (United Kingdom)},

volume = {19},

number = {6},

pages = {852–860},

abstract = {Background The face as a visual stimulus is a reliable source of information for judging the pain experienced by others. Until now, most studies investigating the facial expression of pain have used a descriptive method (i.e. Facial Action Coding System). However, the facial features that are relevant for the observer in the identification of the expression of pain remain largely unknown despite the strong medical impact that misjudging pain can have on patients' well-being. Methods Here, we investigated this question by applying the Bubbles method. Fifty healthy volunteers were asked to categorize facial expressions (the six basic emotions, pain and neutrality) displayed in stimuli obtained from a previously validated set and presented for 500 ms each. To determine the critical areas of the face used in this categorization task, the faces were partly masked based on random sampling of regions of the stimuli at different spatial frequency ranges. Results Results show that accurate pain discrimination relies mostly on the frown lines and the mouth. Finally, an ideal observer analysis indicated that the use of the frown lines in human observers could not be attributed to the objective 'informativeness' of this area. Conclusions Based on a recent study suggesting that this area codes for the affective dimension of pain, we propose that the visual system has evolved to focus primarily on the facial cues that signal the aversiveness of pain, consistent with the social role of facial expressions in the communication of potential threats. © 2015 European Pain Federation-EFIC®.},

keywords = {anger, article, association, Classification, Cues, disgust, emotion, Emotions, Facial Expression, Fear, female, happiness, human, human experiment, Humans, male, nociception, normal human, Pain, pain assessment, Pattern Recognition, Photic Stimulation, photostimulation, physiology, priority journal, procedures, random sample, reproducibility, Reproducibility of Results, sadness, statistical significance, Visual, visual information, visual stimulation},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{royEfficientInformationRecognizing2015,

title = {Efficient information for recognizing pain in facial expressions},

author = {C. Roy and C. Blais and D. Fiset and P. Rainville and F. Gosselin},

url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84929122739&doi=10.1002%2fejp.676&partnerID=40&md5=027f6da7b6d5c98c86de6a07766fb83d},

doi = {10.1002/ejp.676},

issn = {10903801 (ISSN)},

year  = {2015},

date = {2015-01-01},

journal = {European Journal of Pain (United Kingdom)},

volume = {19},

number = {6},

pages = {852–860},

abstract = {Background The face as a visual stimulus is a reliable source of information for judging the pain experienced by others. Until now, most studies investigating the facial expression of pain have used a descriptive method (i.e. Facial Action Coding System). However, the facial features that are relevant for the observer in the identification of the expression of pain remain largely unknown despite the strong medical impact that misjudging pain can have on patients' well-being. Methods Here, we investigated this question by applying the Bubbles method. Fifty healthy volunteers were asked to categorize facial expressions (the six basic emotions, pain and neutrality) displayed in stimuli obtained from a previously validated set and presented for 500 ms each. To determine the critical areas of the face used in this categorization task, the faces were partly masked based on random sampling of regions of the stimuli at different spatial frequency ranges. Results Results show that accurate pain discrimination relies mostly on the frown lines and the mouth. Finally, an ideal observer analysis indicated that the use of the frown lines in human observers could not be attributed to the objective 'informativeness' of this area. Conclusions Based on a recent study suggesting that this area codes for the affective dimension of pain, we propose that the visual system has evolved to focus primarily on the facial cues that signal the aversiveness of pain, consistent with the social role of facial expressions in the communication of potential threats. © 2015 European Pain Federation-EFIC®.},

keywords = {anger, article, association, Classification, Cues, disgust, emotion, Emotions, Facial Expression, Fear, female, happiness, human, human experiment, Humans, male, nociception, normal human, Pain, pain assessment, Pattern Recognition, Photic Stimulation, photostimulation, physiology, priority journal, procedures, random sample, reproducibility, Reproducibility of Results, sadness, statistical significance, Visual, visual information, visual stimulation},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{blais_human_2013,

title = {Human visual processing oscillates: Evidence from a classification image technique},

author = {C. Blais and M. Arguin and F. Gosselin},

url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84879014749&doi=10.1016%2fj.cognition.2013.04.009&partnerID=40&md5=c2d20982fa4a5c46b9d99d2912284ff6},

doi = {10.1016/j.cognition.2013.04.009},

issn = {00100277},

year  = {2013},

date = {2013-01-01},

journal = {Cognition},

volume = {128},

number = {3},

pages = {353–362},

abstract = {Recent investigations have proposed that visual information may be sampled in a discrete manner, similarly to the snapshots of a camera, but this hypothesis remains controversial. Moreover, assuming a discrete sampling of information, the properties of this sampling-for instance, the frequency at which it operates, and how it synchronizes with the environment-still need to be clarified. We systematically modulated the signal-to-noise ratio of faces through time and examined how it impacted face identification performance. Altogether, our results support the hypothesis of discrete sampling. Furthermore, they suggest that this mechanism may operate at a rate of about 10-15. Hz and that it is synchronized with the onset of the stimulus. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.},

keywords = {amplitude modulation, article, Face, female, human, human experiment, Humans, male, normal human, oscillation, Oscillations, Pattern Recognition, Photic Stimulation, priority journal, reaction time, signal noise ratio, Signal-To-Noise Ratio, stimulus response, Temporal processing, vision, Visual, visual acuity, Visual Perception, Visual sampling, visual stimulation},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{blaisHumanVisualProcessing2013,

title = {Human visual processing oscillates: Evidence from a classification image technique},

author = {C. Blais and M. Arguin and F. Gosselin},

url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84879014749&doi=10.1016%2fj.cognition.2013.04.009&partnerID=40&md5=c2d20982fa4a5c46b9d99d2912284ff6},

doi = {10.1016/j.cognition.2013.04.009},

issn = {00100277},

year  = {2013},

date = {2013-01-01},

journal = {Cognition},

volume = {128},

number = {3},

pages = {353–362},

abstract = {Recent investigations have proposed that visual information may be sampled in a discrete manner, similarly to the snapshots of a camera, but this hypothesis remains controversial. Moreover, assuming a discrete sampling of information, the properties of this sampling-for instance, the frequency at which it operates, and how it synchronizes with the environment-still need to be clarified. We systematically modulated the signal-to-noise ratio of faces through time and examined how it impacted face identification performance. Altogether, our results support the hypothesis of discrete sampling. Furthermore, they suggest that this mechanism may operate at a rate of about 10-15. Hz and that it is synchronized with the onset of the stimulus. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.},

keywords = {amplitude modulation, article, Face, female, human, human experiment, Humans, male, normal human, oscillation, Oscillations, Pattern Recognition, Photic Stimulation, priority journal, reaction time, signal noise ratio, Signal-To-Noise Ratio, stimulus response, Temporal processing, vision, Visual, visual acuity, Visual Perception, Visual sampling, visual stimulation},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}