Recommendations for Investigating the Cross-Category Effect Among Hispanic and Latino Populations. (March 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Rennels, Jennifer L.
• Is Part Of: Perspectives on psychological science. Volume 18:Number 2(2023)
• Page Start: 461
• Page End: 471
• Publication Date: 2023-03
• Subjects: attention -- memory -- perception -- social cognition -- culture/diversity -- face perception -- classification -- ethnic identity; Psychology -- Periodicals; 150
• DOI: 10.1177/17456916221100508
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1745-6916

Abstract

Individuals who are Hispanic or Latino make up a substantial portion of the U.S. and world population yet are vastly underrepresented as both participants and stimuli in the face-perception literature. Perceiving and recognizing faces are critical components of everyday social interactions, but cross-category effects (difficulty recognizing faces from other races or ethnicities) can hinder social interactions. Cross-category effects are the most commonly studied face-perception topic with these ethnic groups, but this empirical knowledge should be expanded via culturally relevant considerations. In this article, I describe (a) errors individuals display when categorizing target faces, (b) how social status influences identity and cross-category effects, (c) the potential impact of flexible and heterogeneous social identities on face processing, (d) a critical need for more developmental research, and (e) methodological expansions and generalizability concerns. Thus, I propose important directions for future studies to address these issues and advance knowledge in the field.