Own- and other-race face identity recognition in children: the effects of pose and feature composition

Abstract

We used a matching-to-sample task and manipulated facial pose and feature composition to examine the other-race effect (ORE) in face identity recognition between 5 and 10 years of age. Overall, the present findings provide a genuine measure of own- and other-race face identity recognition in children that is independent of photographic and image processing. The current study also confirms the presence of an ORE in children as young as 5 years of age using a recognition paradigm that is sensitive to their developing cognitive abilities. In addition, the present findings show that with age, increasing experience with familiar classes of own-race faces and further lack of experience with unfamiliar classes of other-race faces serves to maintain the ORE between 5 and 10 years of age rather than exacerbate the effect. All age groups also showed a differential effect of stimulus facial pose in their recognition of the internal regions of own- and other-race faces. Own-race inner faces were remembered best when three-quarter poses were used during familiarization and frontal poses were used during the recognition test. In contrast, other-race inner faces were remembered best when frontal poses were used during familiarization and three-quarter poses were used during the recognition test. Thus, children encode and/or retrieve own- and other-race faces from memory in qualitatively different ways.

Figure 1

Figure 1A. Example of female stimulus faces in Caucasian and Asian conditions in Experiment 1. Figure 1B. Example of female stimulus faces in Caucasian and Asian conditions in Experiment 2. Figure 1C. Example of female stimulus faces in Caucasian and Asian conditions in Experiment 3.

Figure 1

Figure 1A. Example of female stimulus faces in Caucasian and Asian conditions in Experiment 1. Figure 1B. Example of female stimulus faces in Caucasian and Asian conditions in Experiment 2. Figure 1C. Example of female stimulus faces in Caucasian and Asian conditions in Experiment 3.

Figure 1

Figure 1A. Example of female stimulus faces in Caucasian and Asian conditions in Experiment 1. Figure 1B. Example of female stimulus faces in Caucasian and Asian conditions in Experiment 2. Figure 1C. Example of female stimulus faces in Caucasian and Asian conditions in Experiment 3.

Figure 2

Participants’ recognition scores for own-race Caucasian and other-race Asian faces in Experiment 1 when the same photographs of faces showing frontal poses were used in the familiarization and test phases of the recognition task.

Figure 3

Participants’ recognition scores for own-race Caucasian and other-race Asian faces in Experiment 2 when different photographs and facial poses were used across the familiarization and test phases of the recognition task.

Figure 4

Participants’ recognition scores for own-race Caucasian and other-race Asian faces in Experiment 1 and 2.

Figure 5

Participants’ recognition scores for own-race Caucasian and other-race Asian faces in Experiment 3 (external facial cues were removed) when different photographs and facial poses were used across the familiarization and test phases of the recognition task.

Figure 6

Participants’ recognition scores for own-race Caucasian and other-race Asian faces in Experiment 2 and 3.