The failure of context shifts to alter the recognition of faces: implications for contextual deficits in amnesia

Abstract

The effects of contextual changes were examined in a group of divers performing a test of face recognition. No evidence was found that the shift from above to below water, or vice versa, disrupted recognition. The fact that the same test of visual recognition is sensitive to amnesic subjects poses a challenge to certain versions of the contextual deficit theory of amnesia.