Do i have Face Blindness or is it just Aphantasia?

1 min readByJosh Camden

Do i have Face Blindness? I scored low on the Prosopagnosia screening (CFMT), but I think i just take much longer to learn someone's face: not true face amnesia. I am still able to recognize people that i know.

If you look at someone that you recognize then look away. Would you be able to describe the person to a sketch artist? I would probably list everything but the shape of their face. Honestly, i don't even remember if someone wears glasses unless that's something i specifically look for and memorize. But i think i could describe the front of my home or living room, well enough for someone to draw it.

I have Aphantasia and SDAM. I always thought this inability to describe someone's face was a function of Aphantasia, but maybe you have Aphantasia and no issue describing someone's face (that you aren't looking at)?

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Megan Schmidt•recently•edited

I have complete aphantasia but have no problem recognizing faces. I an imagine them in a certain way and describe them with words. I could even draw them. I just can’t picture them visually.

Greg Connors•recently•edited

I don’t have trouble with faces, but names can be a problem.

cyn bigelow•recently•edited

i thought i had prosopagnosia for some years... have no visual memory of faces. then i realized that didn't explain my condition because i also couldn't visually remember cars or dogs or directions or... anything, which led me to aphantasia. what was puzzling to me is that i do very well in the facial identification tests for propopagnosia but when looking at an actual person i have no idea who they are unless i've met them many many times in a fairly short period of time. finally, read (or maybe it was on a podcast) that people with aphantasia have no problem remembering something when they see it, but can't describe it or recall what it was visually. this would explain (if accurate) a difference between the 2... people with propopagnosia will not recognise someone in a photo... people with aphantasia can but, if we close our eyes, can't describe or recall what they were just looking at. this has been my experience and is why i now think i do not have propopagnosia but do have aphantasia.

Neal White•recently•edited

I have aphantasia and am "partially face blind". I think you are too. With repeated and recent exposure, I can recognize some faces. Since I haven't seen my sister recently, I'd probably walk right past her, if we were both in a public space and I wasn't expecting to see her. I can recognize the faces of many actors and public figures, like politicians. Repeated exposure is key.