Disruptive effect of holistic bias on processing of other-race faces following face categorization.
Prior work on own-race bias in visual face recognition has considered cognitive and social-cognitive explanations to account for the more efficient recognition of own-race faces as compared to faces of models from other races. One perceptual account with reasonable support suggests that the pattern reflects a cognitive tendency away from holistic processing of other-race faces. The present study engaged participants in an orientation task that provoked either global (holistic) or local (feature) processing prior to a face recognition task. Response latencies suggested that inducing a global processing bias slowed recognition of other-race faces relative to that of own-race faces, whereas inducing a local processing bias led to nearly equal face recognition times for both categories of faces. Furthermore, processing of other-race faces was slower with a global rather than a local processing bias. Results provide converging evidence that own-race faces and other-race faces differ in global analysis received.
Greenberg
Seth N
SN
Department of Psychology, Carleton College, Northfield, MN 55057, USA. sgreenbe@carleton.edu
Macgregor-Hannah
Maren
M
D000293:Adolescent; D044466:Asian People / Q000523:psychology*; D001288:Attention; D004193:Discrimination Learning; D005145:Face; D005260:Female; D005364:Field Dependence-Independence; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D021641:Recognition, Psychology; D012933:Social Identification; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult