title: What drives social in-group biases in face recognition memory? ERP evidence from the own-gender bias.
abstract: It is well established that memory is more accurate for own-relative to other-race faces (own-race bias), which has been suggested to result from larger perceptual expertise for own-race faces. Previous studies also demonstrated better memory for own-relative to other-gender faces, which is less likely to result from differences in perceptual expertise, and rather may be related to social in-group vs out-group categorization. We examined neural correlates of the own-gender bias using event-related potentials (ERP). In a recognition memory experiment, both female and male participants remembered faces of their respective own gender more accurately compared with other-gender faces. ERPs during learning yielded significant differences between the subsequent memory effects (subsequently remembered - subsequently forgotten) for own-gender compared with other-gender faces in the occipito-temporal P2 and the central N200, whereas neither later subsequent memory effects nor ERP old/new effects at test reflected a neural correlate of the own-gender bias. We conclude that the own-gender bias is mainly related to study phase processes, which is in line with sociocognitive accounts.
authors.affiliation: DFG Research Unit Person Perception, Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, Leutragraben 1, 07743 Jena, Germany. Nicole.Wolff@uni-jena.de.
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wolff
authors.forename: Kathleen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kemter
authors.forename: Stefan R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Schweinberger
authors.forename: Holger
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wiese
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005071:Evoked Potentials; D005145:Face; D005260:Female; D006126:Group Processes; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D063507:Sexism; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Dm effect; ERP; face processing; old/new effect; own-gender bias