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An 'other-race effect' for categorizing faces by sex
A J O'Toole1, J Peterson, K A Deffenbacher
1School of Human Development GR 4.1., University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson 75083-0688, USA.
Perception
|January 1, 1996
Summary
People are better at recognizing their own race
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Perception
Background:
- The other-race effect describes better recognition of own-race faces.
- This effect is well-documented in facial recognition studies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if the other-race effect extends to facial sex discrimination.
- To examine how racial group affects the accuracy of sex classification from faces.
Main Methods:
- Briefly presented Caucasian and Japanese faces to Caucasian and Oriental observers.
- Measured accuracy and efficiency in discriminating facial sex.
Main Results:
- Both Caucasian and Oriental observers were more accurate at sex-classifying own-race faces.
- This impairment in sex discrimination for other-race faces occurred even with salient features.
- Female observers outperformed male observers in sex classification for both races.
Conclusions:
- Experience with faces influences not only recognition but also perceptual discrimination efficiency.
- The other-race effect impacts the perception of fundamental facial characteristics like sex.
- Sex differences exist in facial sex classification accuracy.
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