Viewers extract mean and individual identity from sets of famous faces

When viewers are shown sets of similar objects (for example circles), they may extract summary information (e.g., average size) while retaining almost no information about the individual items. A similar observation can be made when using sets of unfamiliar faces: Viewers tend to merge identity or expression information from the set exemplars into a single abstract representation, the set average. Here, across four experiments, sets of well-known, famous faces were presented. In response to a subsequent probe, viewers recognized the individual faces very accurately. However, they also reported having seen a merged ‘average’ of these faces. These findings suggest abstraction of set characteristics even in circumstances which favor individuation of the items. Moreover, the present data suggest that, although seemingly incompatible, exemplar and average representations co-exist for sets consisting of famous faces. This result suggests that representations are simultaneously formed at multiple levels of abstraction.