Independent influences of verbalization and race on the configural and featural processing of faces: A behavioral and eye movement study

Nakabayashi, Kazuyo; Lloyd-Jones, Toby J.; Butcher, Natalie; Liu, Chang Hong

Abstract

Describing a face in words can either hinder or help subsequent face recognition. Here, the authors examined the relationship between the benefit from verbally describing a series of faces and the same-race advantage (SRA) whereby people are better at recognizing unfamiliar faces from their own race as compared with those from other races. Verbalization and the SRA influenced face recognition independently, as evident on both behavioral (Experiment 1) and eye movement measures (Experiment 2). The findings indicate that verbalization and the SRA each recruit different types of configural processing, with verbalization modulating face learning and the SRA modulating both face learning and recognition. Eye movement patterns demonstrated greater feature sampling for describing as compared with not describing faces and for other-race as compared with same-race faces. In both cases, sampling of the eyes, nose, and mouth played a major role in performance. The findings support a single process account whereby verbalization can influence perceptual processing in a flexible and yet fundamental way through shifting one's processing orientation. © 2012 American Psychological Association.

Citation

Nakabayashi, K., Lloyd-Jones, T. J., Butcher, N., & Liu, C. H. (2012). Independent influences of verbalization and race on the configural and featural processing of faces: A behavioral and eye movement study. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 38(1), 61-77. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0024853

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Aug 8, 2011
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2012
• Deposit Date: Nov 13, 2014
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 23, 2017
• Journal: Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition
• Print ISSN: 0278-7393
• Publisher: American Psychological Association
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 38
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 61-77
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0024853
• Keywords: Linguistics and Language; Experimental and Cognitive Psychology; Language and Linguistics
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/463879
• Publisher URL: http://psycnet.apa.org/index.cfm?fa=search.displayrecord&uid=2011-17267-001
• Additional Information: "This article may not exactly replicate the final version published in the APA journal. It is not the copy of record."
• Contract Date: Nov 23, 2017