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The cross-race effect in face recognition memory by bicultural individuals
Benjamin U Marsh1, Kathy Pezdek2, Daphna Hausman Ozery2
1Claremont Graduate University, 150 East 10th Street, Claremont, CA 91711, United States; Azusa Pacific University, 901 E Alosta Ave, Azusa, CA 91702, United States.
Acta Psychologica
|May 25, 2016
Summary
Cultural identity influences face recognition. Priming Latino-Americans with their Latino or American identity altered how they recognized faces, demonstrating a moderated cross-race effect (CRE).
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Social-cognitive models explain the cross-race effect (CRE) by suggesting automatic out-group categorization of non-native faces.
- This categorization leads to differential encoding processes, resulting in superior recognition memory for same-race faces.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether cultural priming can moderate the cognitive categorization of cross-race faces.
- To explore the influence of bicultural identity on the cross-race effect.
Main Methods:
- Experiment 1: Monoracial Latino-Americans were primed to focus on either their Latino or American cultural identity before viewing Latino and White faces.
- Experiment 2: European-Americans were subjected to similar priming conditions to test the generalizability of findings.
Main Results:
- Latino-Americans primed as Latino showed better recognition of Latino faces compared to White faces.
- Latino-Americans primed as American demonstrated superior recognition of White faces over Latino faces.
- The cross-race effect was not moderated by cultural priming in European-Americans.
Conclusions:
- For individuals with a bicultural identity, activating specific cultural identities influences face encoding processes.
- Cultural priming can moderate the cross-race effect in bicultural populations by altering how same- and cross-race faces are processed.
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