Do I know you? Processing orientation and face recognition.
Recognition performance is impaired when people are required to provide a verbal description of a complex stimulus (i.e., verbal-overshadowing effect), such as the face of the perpetrator in a simulated robbery. A shift in the processing operations that support successful face recognition is believed to underlie this effect. Specifically, when participants shift from a global to a local processing orientation, face recognition is impaired. Extending research on this general topic, the present experiment revealed that verbalization is not a necessary precondition for the emergence of impaired recognition performance. Rather, face recognition can be disrupted by a task (i.e., letter identification) that triggers the activation of a local processing orientation. Conversely, the activation of a global processing orientation can enhance the accuracy offace recognition. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings for recent treatments of verbal overshadowing and memory function are considered.
Macrae
C Neil
CN
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA. c.n.macrae@dartmouth.edu
Lewis
Helen L
HL
D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D005145:Face; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D009949:Orientation; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D011601:Psychophysics; D012153:Retention, Psychology; D014705:Verbal Behavior