The original data for the paper "The Large-Face Impairment Effect in Face Recognition: Evidence of a Distinct Spatial Integration Mechanism"

This study systematically re-investigated how image size affects recognition of faces and non-face stimuli to test the spatial integration nature in face processing. In Experiment 1, a delayed matching task was employed to assess recognition performance across image size from 1° to 10° in width. Results showed that recognition for upright faces, measured by a rate-correct score (accuracy divided by response time), follows an inverted U-shaped curve, peaking at 6°, beyond which it gradually declines. This “Large-Face Impairment Effect” (LFIE) was absent for inverted faces, negative faces, or cars, highlighting its upright-face specificity. Subsequent research replicated LFIE for upright other-race faces (Experiment 2), but not for dog faces or houses (Experiment 3). Experiment 4 further demonstrated that the magnitude of LFIE correlates positively with face-specific recognition ability in an old/new recognition task. Overall, these findings suggest that face recognition relies on a distinct spatial integration mechanism, with an optimal perceptual spatial window for upright faces around 6°. This study was conducted according to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Research Ethics Board of Shanghai Normal University. The dataset included data of Acc, RT, and rate-correct score (RCS) from Experiment 2 to 4.