Rare ‘Face Blindness’ Exacts a High Psychosocial Toll

Developmental prosopagnosia, commonly known as face blindness, affects every aspect of daily life, leaving many patients unable to pick out even their closest relatives in ordinary encounters, new research showed.

Estimated to affect about 2% of the population, the rare condition is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by the inability to recognize familiar faces, despite otherwise normal vision, memory, and intellect. 

It is diagnosed through a combination of objective tests and subjective reports, because there is no single formal diagnostic definition of a specific validated diagnostic tool. In addition, the investigators noted that few studies have delved into the lived experience of people with the disorder. 

To investigate, researchers had 19 men and 1src women with confirmed face-recognition difficulties complete an online survey describing and quantifying their experiences living with poor face recognition. 

Led by Judith Lowes, PhD, lecturer in psychology, University of Stirling in Stirling, Scotland, the researchers published their findings online on April 3src in PLOS One. 

‘Striking’ Impact

Although 62% of respondents said they could recognize immediate family members — such as a parent, partner, or child — “strikingly,” 35% could not reliably do so outside of context, the investigators reported.

Fewer than half (45%) said they could always recognize their three closest friends when encountering them unexpectedly, underscoring that the disorder often impairs recognition of even the most familiar faces, including those with strong emotional ties.

More than two thirds of participants (69%) said they could recognize fewer than 1src familiar faces — well below the typical range, as the average adult can identify around 5srcsrcsrc.

Responses to open-ended questions about how face blindness affects daily life revealed a widespread psychosocial toll. Here’s a snapshot of what participants shared:

“This condition impacts every aspect of my life — my relationships, friendships, work activities, and social life. It deserves more attention as it can have a seriously detrimental impact on the physical and mental health of those with the condition.”

“Any occasion, social, or work, where one is expected to mingle and meet new people is hard; I can’t tell whether someone is a new person or not, so I can’t ever introduce myself to anyone (it might turn out we’ve worked together for 1src years).”

“I avoid groups of more than one or two people and feel very nervous in a group. It is a shame as I love being with people.”

“I have anxiety in social situations because I constantly think there are people there thinking I’m rude because I don’t approach anyone, ever.”

“Driven largely by concerns about negative evaluation by others, most participants employed a range of highly effortful, though error-prone, strategies to disguise and compensate for their face-recognition difficulties,” the investigators reported. 

All participants reported trying at least four different strategies with varying degrees of success. 

For example, 28% of participants found it helpful to jot down notes detailing appearance, mannerisms, distinctive features (tattoos or piercings), characteristics, typical greetings, and hobbies of an individual. Several participants described actively revising their notes ahead of expected encounters with an individual.

Some would think about who they expected to be present during a specific situation and work by process of elimination. Other individuals became good at recognizing someone’s voice or accent to compensate for face blindness. 

In general, participants highlighted greater awareness and understanding of the condition among the general public, health and education professionals, and to a lesser extent, workplaces as important areas for future research. They also put a high priority on research into potential interventions to improve face recognition.

Several participants mentioned the support organization Face Blind UK and the research website faceblind.org as useful sources of information and advice for individuals with living with the condition and for their families.

This research received no commerc