title: Automatic identification of familiar faces.
abstract: Much research has suggested that facial identification has some characteristics of automaticity, in that it is rapid, nonconscious, and mandatory. However, little research has tested whether it can occur even if attention is already devoted to the demanding central processes of another task. In the present study, we addressed this type of automaticity using the psychological refractory period paradigm. In Experiments 1 and 2, participants successfully identified familiar faces, even while they were engaged with another task, indicating the automaticity of familiar-face identification. In Experiments 3 and 4, however, participants could not identify unfamiliar faces as automatically as they could identify the familiar faces. We concluded that automatic face identification is possible, but dependent on prior familiarity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, MSC03 2220, Albuquerque, NM, 87131-1161, USA, khjung@unm.edu.
authors.forename: Kyunghun
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ruthruff
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gaspelin
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D005145:Face; D006801:Humans; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000502:physiology*; D012033:Refractory Period, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D014473:Unconscious, Psychology; D055815:Young Adult