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Prosopagnosia (failure to recognise faces)

total-recoil

total-recoil

Well-Known Member
This happens to me very often. I see someone who I believe is a familiar face and go over to start polite conversation. I am then met with a puzzled look in return and then I realise the person I am talking to isn't the person I assumed it was. In fact, it may be a complete stranger. I then have to somehow bluff my way out of the situation and hope the person isn't aware I made such a strange mistake.
One incident I recall a few months ago was when there was a girl with dark hair sat in a car and I just thought it was a friend of mine called Bianca. I walked over to the car window, started to chat and was met by a puzzled look. It was only the puzzled look that made me realise I had been mistaken. At such a time I always think to myself, "Oh no, this isn't such and such a person at all."
I have noticed that I get these symptoms in waves and that maybe it's an indication of any possible stress or withdrawel. I looked into prosopagnosia a little bit a few weeks ago with a very open mind and must admit what I experience is kind of hard to define. I mean, I don't know why it is I sometimes don't recognise faces. You coud, for example, show me a photo of the Beatles right now and I could tell you who was John, who was George, who was Paul and who was Ringo. Yet, in real life situation, somehow I occasionally just don't know who someone is. There was a time, in fact, that this really scared me and I didn't dare tell anyone as I figured I may have been seriously ill.
I believe there are different types of prospagnosia and that there are special tests to evaluate it. I have a strong feeling if I was subjected to such a test I could definitely distinguish faces from pics and photos. Yet, evidently, there are different types of prosopagnosia. I'm not familiar with the differences but can sort of define my own situation. I have a theory that somehow part of my brain becomes dormant while another part of the brain is very active so that somehow the visual perception does a bypass. Or something like that. What I do know for sure is it's definitely no imagined scenario. At times in life my struggle to identify people has led to very difficult and awkward situations. Such as trying to work in a hotel and not knowing one customer from another and then having to try and bluff through the whole thing.
 
I have this a lot, but I found ways to get around it to some extent.

I use other indicators to identify people. On of the more prevalent ones I use is their voice. I have an easier time identifying someone by his voice than I have by his face. That and looking for distinct features on said persons. Things like; tattoos, a "signature" hairdo, piercings, clothing style... those sometimes work, but it does depend a bit on where you're at. In the past I've even recognized people by personal items up to the color of protective sleeves of playing cards (since I knew this person had distinct pink ones).

So in general it's that I found ways around it, but if I look at pictures, it's quite often way harder for me, since there is no sound. And clearly in an environment where people have to dress the same (like work) it confuses the F out of me, since I cannot tell who is who... back then I was happy that the supervisor just wore a different color shirt (red/burgundy for supervisors vs. blue for regular employees) which was company policy.
 
I've already learned to use stuff like clothing and hats as identification factors. Another big factor is context since if I'm used to seeing a certain person behind the counter in a shop, I don't have to struggle over recognition issues. Familiarity and context is a great help. This is why I could maybe bump into the same person in the street and, if they're wearing different clothes, it's very common for me to fail to recognise who it is. This has even happened with friends or even family. They have literally had to tell me who they are.
This situation tends to come and go in intensity. Today at work I've had two instances where I struggled to recognise some people. I mean, what can get me is if two girls happen to wear the same type of cap and both have a similar hairstyle. I simply may not know how to differentiate.
The worst problem I ever had was when I was on a reception once at work and people would ask me if such and such a person or boss had come in and I'd often have to bluff or guess. Either that or look at the signing in book first. Also I would struggle to pick up names as the faces never registered, only perhaps the clothes, hat or glasses.
As I said, I don't know why I struggle over recognition as much as I do. I know I have the ability to recognise (on a good day) but still there are times I get into a mess.


King_Oni said:
I have this a lot, but I found ways to get around it to some extent.

I use other indicators to identify people. On of the more prevalent ones I use is their voice. I have an easier time identifying someone by his voice than I have by his face. That and looking for distinct features on said persons. Things like; tattoos, a "signature" hairdo, piercings, clothing style... those sometimes work, but it does depend a bit on where you're at. In the past I've even recognized people by personal items up to the color of protective sleeves of playing cards (since I knew this person had distinct pink ones).

So in general it's that I found ways around it, but if I look at pictures, it's quite often way harder for me, since there is no sound. And clearly in an environment where people have to dress the same (like work) it confuses the F out of me, since I cannot tell who is who... back then I was happy that the supervisor just wore a different color shirt (red/burgundy for supervisors vs. blue for regular employees) which was company policy.
Click to expand...
 
what an interesting thread!! i know it sounds awful but its a relief to know im not alone in this...i work in a v busy outpatients dept as a receptionist and im always being asked if so and so has checked in, sometimes i can identify them, especially if i know them and they are regular patients which some of them are but i cant identify strangers so easily!! my workmates do get frustrated at times but i think they realise im not reliable in recognising faces..
 
total-recoil said:
Another big factor is context
Click to expand...

That's one of the factors I even forgot to mention.

I've had situations where I didn't even recognize my parents when I was out doing something (like running into them at the grocerystore). Context in regards to my parents clearly is; them being at home. I can safely assume that those other 2 people in the house are my parents. I've had family come over and that makes it way more confusing for me.
 
I was in a large store once looking for dog biscuits. I couldn't find them so I approached the first lady nearby and asked her if she had any idea where they kept the dog biscuits. It turned out to be a relative. You feel like you could die a thousand deaths when they tell you.
The other day I was in a take-a-way food outlet and the owner had just come back from holiday in China. A girl who was working there presented her Chinese Boss to me and said, "Look who's back!" Well, I wasn't sure what to say. I mean, I didn't know for sure if it really was who I figured it probably had to be (other Chinese women work there). If I used her name and said I was glad to see her but turned out to be wrong, I'd be in another tight spot. So, I just said nothing apart from, "Hi!" Bitter experience has taught me not to jump in with assumptions as scores of times I've mixed people up.

King_Oni said:
That's one of the factors I even forgot to mention.

I've had situations where I didn't even recognize my parents when I was out doing something (like running into them at the grocerystore). Context in regards to my parents clearly is; them being at home. I can safely assume that those other 2 people in the house are my parents. I've had family come over and that makes it way more confusing for me.
Click to expand...
 
I don't recognize faces easily and I dread it when people want to show me their family album, or show me a photo and I'm expected to recognize all the family members. If a person changes their hairstyle, I won't recognise them at all. I just found this online test and I scored 57 %, just below the cut-off point for suspected prosopagnosia. It's a hard test, especially towards the end http://www.bbk.ac.uk/psychology/psychologyexperiments/experiments/facememorytest/startup.php
 
This is the bane of my life, I have no recognition of faces. My job means I engage with total strangers daily, but if they wander off I will not be able to spot them easily.

I've been out and about and failed to recognise friends and family passing by. Saddest part is in trying to remember my childrens faces, or that of my parents. I can recall our times together perfectly but the faces are blurred out.
 
I have pretty severe prosopagnosia and I am 71. A lifetime of agony because I have, again, failed to recognize someone I am expected to know. Having the reverse--thinking I know someone when I really don't--is not really a part of prosopagnosia for me. However, I study every face I see and lock in on special features in the hope I will be able to recognize this face again. What I notice is almost always a negative aspect; buck teeth, acne, receding or jutting chin, unusually shaped nose, protruding or large ears, crossed eyes, and occasionally something exceptionally nice looking about the face. Since most of the features I pay attention to are not attractive I can never describe that person to someone else if I am looking for that person. At a place I once worked, a girl had very prominently bulging eyes. If I described her that way I am certain most people would know about whom I was speaking. However, because the feature was so unattractive I would NEVER mention it. I picked up my son at an airport a few years ago after he had moved to CA 5 years earlier. I really was worried I wouldn't recognize him, but he knows I have prosopagnosia and it wouldn't have really mattered to him. I knew he kept his hair almost shaved, was around 5-9 or 5-10, and muscular. The passengers were trickling down a tall escalator so I was able to focus on a likely subject. I recognized his body language and "bird watcher" clothing first and before I spoke to him I saw signs of recognition of me in him. If he had suddenly appeared in a crowd and I didn't know he was on the East coast I probably wouldn't have noticed him. Life with severe prosopagnosia has been very painful. I didn't even know there was such a diagnostic condition until I was in my 50s. I had suffered all my life being called self-centered, rude, and having no care for others. "How COULD you fail to recognize your OWN cousin when you checked her out at the discount store!!!!!!!" However, I really did not recognize her, even though she is really beautiful and her baby was particularly homely. This was back in the 60s and my cousin wasn't married and it was assumed that I was being judgmental when I didn't speak to her. My mother and aunt were ready to boil me in oil and I could do nothing to defend myself.
 
tree said:
My accuracy in the experiment was: 63%
That was pretty hard.
The faces looked weird the way they were cropped.
I kept thinking they looked like phases of the moon.
Or pieces of cheese.
The ones at the end were the worst...those colored dotty things.

http://www.bbk.ac.uk/psychology/psychologyexperiments/experiments/facememorytest/startup.php
Click to expand...
Thanks for that, now I was seeing crescent moon people halfway through! :yum:

I got a 75%. The first half where they show you a face and then pick it out among three people looking in the same direction was a breeze. The faces stayed the same direction and I could focus in on markers. Apparently I recognize people by eyebrows and jaw shape... The last half I was clueless though. With the examples facing one way and the tests looking here, there, and yonder, nah ah. When it got to the grainy pictures, I just pecked out a random pattern because I had no clue who was who. I guess I had a few lucky guesses in there.
 
I have this and cannot recognize people that I should know. Because of this, I try to avoid people that I know, especially if I see them outside of the normal environment where I am accustomed to seeing them. I don't know why this is, but while at the store, I will even go as far as to duck down another aisle, speed up or even take a different path just so I don't run into people that I may know.

If for some reason I do run into people that I know face to face, I can't for the life of me, figure out who they are. I frequently turn to my wife, who understands my issue and says, "They are so and so from <wherever we know them>.” If she is not there, I try to engage in some small talk (which I dislike) to try to get some clue out of them as to who they are.

Another example is one week, when I was serving in our student ministry at church, it was a crossover week where all of the new kids came to our student ministry for the first time. I was greeting the kids as they came in and tried to get them comfortable and help them to mingle with others when I saw this girl standing alone against one of the walls. I went over to her and asked her what her name was. She replied and I recognized that she was one of our neighbors. I was immediately embarrassed that I did not recognize her and played it off like I was kidding around with her.

Being in social groups in general is the same way. I don't like going to parties, BBQ's, etc. where I feel forced to socialize. It's simply too exhausting. This does not carry over for being with my immediate family, though.

This also carries over to TV as well. I have trouble following the plot of television shows and movies. I can't keep track of the identity of the characters on the screen unless I've seen them for a very long time.

I can go on and on but prosopagnosia can be very frightening and a cause for severe anxiety.
 
I definitely have this problem I have failed at times in recognising people that I should know,and sometimes people will know who I am and I haven't have a clue how this person knows me,I recently failed to recognise a girl who was my husbands friends girlfriend and we have met a few times,and I did one time got someone mixed up with someone else,it can be embarrassing and plus the person must get puzzled as to why I sometimes don't recognise them.
 
ASD_Geek said:
This also carries over to TV as well. I have trouble following the plot of television shows and movies. I can't keep track of the identity of the characters on the screen unless I've seen them for a very long time.
Click to expand...

I have noticed that when I think I might or should know which actor is playing a character,
it helps to not look. Instead I look away and listen. Then I look again. A lot of times
the face matches up with the sound file in my head and I know who it is.
 
tree said:
I have noticed that when I think I might or should know which actor is playing a character,
it helps to not look. Instead I look away and listen. Then I look again. A lot of times
the face matches up with the sound file in my head and I know who it is.
Click to expand...

That sounds good. I'll see if I can try that. It may be a little hard because I am very visual, but it sure beats asking others who that character is all the time.

Thanks!
 
Ah, Tree beat me to it. But, yes, sound is my go-to identifier unless there is some kind of movement quirk of theirs I can single out. I've gotten decent at it and been able to match up actors from past movies I enjoyed or pick them out in cartoons I like. I never in a million years would have pegged Worf as I Am Weasel. Explains why I ended up like Worf so much! In person, sometimes I judge a person by scent if they tend to favor a perfume.
 
78%

lol
I was mainly guessing blindly, I could easily identify the crescent moon chap with the more roundy face and the chap with pronounced brow, the rest were pretty much like rolling a dice, maybe i should go to the casino? I am just about overtired enough to believe i'm on a winning streak:p
 
tree said:
My accuracy in the experiment was: 63%
That was pretty hard.
The faces looked weird the way they were cropped.
I kept thinking they looked like phases of the moon.
Or pieces of cheese.
The ones at the end were the worst...those colored dotty things.

http://www.bbk.ac.uk/psychology/psychologyexperiments/experiments/facememorytest/startup.php
Click to expand...

This is one problem I do not have. Actually scored above average in this...90%, and I was in a hurry and knew I got some wrong. I memorize the whole image/pattern of someone's face...I can usually find and recognize people before anyone else, even from behind or from small details or subtle things like gait, or in a crowd of hundreds.

Do I fail at being autistic? Idk.
 
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