When does life “spark” in a face?
How “human” does a face have to be before it looks alive to you? Try this demo to test your intuitions.
Click "MORPH" to start the animation. As soon as the face looks like it has a mind (that it can think, feel pain, make plans), click "IT'S ALIVE!" to see just how human it needed to be.
Where was the tipping point? Did it change depending on the face? Research shows that some faces have to be more human before you're willing to say they have a mind and can feel pain.
And if it's harder for us to see some faces as capable of feeling pain... how might that influence real-world decisions? Watch our video on Bias In Healthcare to learn more.
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Related modules
References
Looser, C. E., & Wheatley, T. (2010). The tipping point of animacy: How, when, and where we perceive life in a face. Psychological Science, 21(12), 1854-1862.
Credits
“When Does Life Spark in a Face” was created by Evan Younger, Olivia Kang, and Mahzarin Banaji.