Processing strategies for other-race, typical, and attractive faces

The current study tested a cognitively-based differential-processing hypothesis that explains previously reported face recognition findings. Previous research has shown that same-race, distinctive, and unattractive faces are recognized better than other-race, typical, and attractive faces. The differential-processing hypothesis states that respective use of configural and featural, processing is responsible for these effects.; Pictures of faces were rated for typicality and attractiveness by 36 white and 36 asian subjects. Recognition performance for these faces was then measured under conditions known to selectively impair configural processing (i.e. divided attention and inversion) or featural, processing (spatial frequency filtering). It was expected that subjects would show the effects of race, typicality, and attractiveness in the control conditions of the experiments, but not under conditions of divided attention or inversion, since these manipulations have been shown to decrease the availability of configural information. In the spatial frequency experiment, it was expected that the effects of race, attractiveness, and typicality would be increased since featural information would be unavailable from low-pass filtered faces. Seventy-two white and 72 asian subjects participated in the divided attention study, and 48 white and 48 asian subjects participated in each of the other experiments.; In the divided attention and spatial frequency experiments there was a generalized recognition decrement resulting from the experimental manipulations, but no difference in the pattern of recognition based on race. Thus, neither experiment provided support for the differential-processing hypothesis. The inversion study, however, yielded a somewhat different result—white subjects recognized white faces more often than black faces in the upright condition, but not in the inverted condition, consistent with the proposal that whites tend to process white faces configurally, and black faces featurally. Typicality and attractiveness were unrelated to recognition ability except for inverted asian faces. Overall, the differential-processing hypothesis received only limited support. The most interesting result was a consistent ‘other-race’ effect for white subjects, but not for asian subjects. Exposure to other-race faces may be critically important for understanding the other-race effect. Further understanding of the effects of familiarity on face recognition is necessary for understanding the effects of race, attractiveness, and typicality.