Arccsúfoltság

Arccsúfoltság is a term used in Hungarian visual perception and aesthetics to describe a perceptual phenomenon in which observers have reduced ability to identify or distinguish faces when a scene contains many faces placed in close proximity. The effect is closely related to the broader concept of crowding, where clutter in peripheral vision impairs the recognition of visual details. In arccsúfoltság, the presence of multiple faces interferes with recognizing identity, expression, or gaze direction, depending on the task.

Several factors influence arccsúfoltság. It tends to increase as face density rises and as spacing between faces decreases. Similarity among faces, viewing angle, and lighting can modulate the strength of interference. The processing of upright faces often relies on holistic mechanisms that can be disrupted by nearby faces, whereas inverted faces may be less susceptible to certain crowding effects. Familiarity with particular faces can also affect recognition under crowded conditions, with familiar faces sometimes being more resistant to interference.

In practice, arccsúfoltság has implications for art, photography, media design, and surveillance imagery. Artists and designers may exploit or mitigate the effect to convey social density, anonymity, or visual complexity. In applied contexts, understanding arccsúfoltság helps optimize layouts, improve rapid identification in images, and inform studies of real-world face perception. Research methods include psychophysical tasks, computer-generated face arrays, and eye-tracking to quantify how crowding alters recognition performance and gaze patterns.

See also: crowding, face perception, visual clutter, caricature.