Recognizing "Bella Swan" and "Hermione Granger": No Own-Race Advantage in Recognizing Photos of Famous Faces. (December 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhou, Xiaomei; Mondloch, Catherine J.
• Is Part Of: Perception. Volume 45:Number 12(2016)
• Page Start: 1426
• Page End: 1429
• Publication Date: 2016-12
• Subjects: other-race effect -- familiar face recognition -- variability -- perceptual experience; Perception -- Periodicals; Perception -- Periodicals; Perception; Periodicals; 153.705
• DOI: 10.1177/0301006616662046
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0301-0066

Abstract

We investigated recognition of familiar and unfamiliar own- and other-race faces across natural variability in appearance. Participants sorted 20 photographs of each of two identities into piles such that each pile contained all photographs of a single identity. The other-race effect was limited to unfamiliar faces. When faces were unfamiliar, participants perceived more identities when sorting other-race faces; when faces were familiar, participants made two piles for both own- and other-race faces. Our work calls for rethinking the concept of the other-race effect.