Does the cross-race effect persist for repeatedly viewed faces?

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Forensic Psychology

Background:

• The Cross-Race Effect (CRE) describes the tendency for individuals to be more accurate at recognizing faces from their own racial group compared to those from other racial groups.
• Previous research has established the CRE, but its persistence with repeated exposure to faces requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether the Cross-Race Effect (CRE) is maintained when faces are repeatedly encountered.
• To examine the differential impact of face familiarization on accurate identifications (hits) versus mistaken identifications (false alarms).

Main Methods:

• Participants (Black and White) viewed blocks of Black and White faces, with target faces repeated across blocks.
• The study analyzed both hit rates (correct recognitions) and false alarm rates (incorrect recognitions) to assess recognition accuracy.
• Signal detection theory measures (e.g., d') were used to quantify performance.

Main Results:

• The false alarm rate data and d' measures consistently demonstrated the CRE across all blocks, unaffected by face repetition.
• In contrast, the hit rate data showed no evidence of the CRE.
• The CRE was asymmetric, being more pronounced in White participants than in Black participants.

Conclusions:

• Recognition accuracy for faces involves distinct mechanisms for hits and false alarms, which can be dissociated.
• The findings have significant implications for understanding real-world face identifications and misidentifications, particularly concerning familiar same-race and cross-race faces.