The Other-Race Effect in Implicit Memory for Face Combinations
Abstract
Other-race faces are remembered less accurately than own-race faces, a robust phenomenon known as the other-race effect or cross-race effect. However, most evidence for the other-race effect comes from tasks that require explicit encoding or recognition of individual face identities, leaving unclear whether the effect is confined to explicit memory demands. Here, we report evidence for an other-race effect not only in explicit memory, but also in implicit memory for repeated face combinations. In Experiment 1, Japanese participants intentionally encoded Asian and Caucasian faces and later performed an explicit recognition task; recognition sensitivity was higher for own-race Asian faces than for other-race Caucasian faces. In Experiment 2, Japanese participants performed an implicit memory task in which repeated face combinations were presented without awareness of the repetitions; implicit memory for repeated face combinations developed more reliably for own-race Asian faces than for other-race Caucasian faces. Taken together, these results suggest that the cognitive difficulties associated with other-race faces should be understood not only as a problem of explicit face memory, but also as a problem of implicit memory formed through repeated face exposure in everyday life.
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