Learning own- and other-race facial identities: Testing implicit recognition with event-related brain potentials

Tüttenberg, Simone C.; Wiese, Holger

Abstract

Exposure to varying images of the same person can encourage the formation of a representation that is sufficiently robust to allow recognition of previously unseen images of this person. While behavioural work suggests that face identity learning is harder for other-race faces, the present experiment investigated the neural correlates underlying own- and other-race face learning. Participants sorted own- and other-race identities into separate identity clusters and were further familiarised with these identities in a matching task. Subsequently, we compared event-related brain potentials (ERPs) in an implicit recognition (butterfly detection) task for learnt and previously unseen identities. We observed better sorting and matching for own-than other-race identities, and behavioural learning effects were restricted to own-race identities. Similarly, the N170 ERP component showed clear learning effects for own-race faces only. The N250, a component more closely associated with face learning was more negative for learnt than novel identities. ERP findings thus suggests a processing advantage for own-race identities at an early perceptual level whereas later correlates of identity learning were unaffected by ethnicity. These results suggest learning advantages for own-race identities, which underscores the importance of perceptual expertise in the own-race bias.

Citation

Tüttenberg, S. C., & Wiese, H. (2019). Learning own- and other-race facial identities: Testing implicit recognition with event-related brain potentials. Neuropsychologia, 134, Article 107218. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2019.107218

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 27, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Sep 30, 2019
• Publication Date: Nov 30, 2019
• Deposit Date: Oct 2, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 30, 2020
• Journal: Neuropsychologia
• Print ISSN: 0028-3932
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 134
• Article Number: 107218
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2019.107218
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1284624