Abstract
Using a crossover recognition memory testing paradigm, we tested whether the effects on face recognition of the memorability component of face typicality (Vokey & Read, 1992, 1995) are due primarily to the encoding process occurring during study or to the retrieval process occurring at test. At study, faces were either veridical in form or at moderate (Experiment 1) or extreme (Experiment 2) levels of caricature. The variable of degree of facial caricature at study was crossed with the degree of caricature at test. The primary contribution of increased memorability to increased hit rate was through increased distinctiveness at study. Increased distinctiveness at test contributed to substantial reductions in the false alarm rate, too. Signal detection analyses confirmed that the mirror effects obtained were primarily stimulus/memory-based, rather than decision-based. Contrary to the conclusion of Vokey and Read (1992), we found that increments in face memorability produced increments in face recognition that were due at least as much to enhanced encoding of studied faces as they were to increased rejection of distractor faces.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Bartlett, J. C., Hurry, S., &Thorley, W. (1984). Typicality and familiarity of faces.Memory & Cognition,12, 219–228.
Benson, P. J., &Perrett, D. I. (1991). Perception and the recognition of photographic quality facial caricatures: Implications for the recognition of natural images.European Journal of Cognitive Psychology,3, 105–135.
Brennan, S. E. (1985). Caricature generator: Dynamic exaggeration of faces by computer.Leonardo,18, 170–178.
Brown, J., Lewis, V. J., &Monk, A. F. (1977). Memorability, word frequency and negative recognition.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,29, 461–473.
Bruce, V., Healey, P., Burton, M., Doyle, T., Coombes, A., &Linney, A. (1991). Recognising facial surfaces.Perception,20, 755–769.
Cohen, J. (1977).Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (rev. ed.). New York: Academic Press.
Cohen, J., MacWhinney, B., Flatt, M., &Provost, J. (1993). PsyScope: An integrative graphic system for designing and controlling experiments in the psychology laboratory using Macintosh computers.Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers,25, 257–271.
Deffenbacher, K. A., Vetter, T., Johanson, J., &O’Toole, A. J. (1998). Facial aging, attractiveness, and distinctiveness.Perception,27, 1233–1243.
Duda, R. O., &Hart, P. E. (1973).Pattern classification and scene analysis. New York: Wiley.
Ellis, H. D., Shepherd, J. W., Gibling, F., &Shepherd, J. (1988). Stimulus factors in face learning. In M. M. Gruneberg, P. E. Morris, & R. N. Sykes (Eds.),Practical aspects of memory: Current research and issues. Vol. 1: Memory in everyday life (pp. 136–143). Chichester, U.K.: Wiley.
Fiorentini, A., Maffei, L., &Sandini, G. (1983). The role of high spatial frequencies in face perception.Perception,12, 195–201.
Glanzer, M., &Adams, J. K. (1985). The mirror effect in recognition memory.Memory & Cognition,13, 8–20.
Grier, J. B. (1971). Nonparametric indexes for sensitivity and bias: Computing formulas.Psychological Bulletin,75, 424–429.
Hosie, J. A., &Milne, A. B. (1996). The effect of experimental design on memory for typical and distinctive faces.Memory,4, 175–197.
Light, L. L., Kayra-Stuart, F., &Hollander, S. (1979). Recognition memory for typical and unusual faces.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning & Memory,5, 212–228.
Mandler, G. (1980). Recognizing: The judgment of previous occurrence.Psychological Review,87, 252–271.
O’Toole, A. J., Deffenbacher, K. A., Valentin, D., &Abdi, H. (1994). Structural aspects of face recognition and the other-race effect.Memory & Cognition,22, 208–224.
O’Toole, A. J., Millward, R. B., &Anderson, J. A. (1988). A physical system approach to recognition memory for spatially transformed faces.Neural Networks,1, 179–199.
O’Toole, A. J., Vetter, T., Volz, H., &Salter, E. M. (1997). Threedimensional caricatures of human heads: Distinctiveness and the perception of facial age.Perception,26, 719–732.
Rhodes, G., Brennan, S., &Carey, S. (1987). Identification and ratings of caricatures: Implications for mental representations of faces.Cognitive Psychology,19, 473–497.
Rhodes, G., &Tremewan, T. (1996). Averageness, exaggeration, and facial attractiveness.Psychological Science,7, 105–110.
Shapiro, P. N., &Penrod, S. (1986). Meta-analysis of facial identification studies.Psychological Bulletin,100, 139–156.
Stevenage, S. V. (1995). Can caricatures really produce distinctiveness effects?British Journal of Psychology,86, 127–146.
Stretch, V., &Wixted, J. T. (1998). On the difference between strength-based and frequency-based mirror effects in recognition memory.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,24, 1379–1396.
Tulving, E., &Thomson, D. M. (1973). Encoding specificity and retrieval processes in episodic memory.Psychological Review,80, 352–373.
Valentine, T., &Bruce, V. (1986). Recognizing familiar faces: The role of distinctiveness and familiarity.Canadian Journal of Psychology,40, 300–305.
Vokey, J. R., &Read, J. D. (1992). Familiarity, memorability, and the effect of typicality on the recognition of faces.Memory & Cognition,20, 291–302.
Vokey, J. R., &Read, J. D. (1995). Memorability, familiarity and categorical structure in the recognition of faces. In T. Valentine (Ed.),Cognitive and computational aspects of face recognition (pp. 113–137). London: Routledge.
Wixted, J. T. (1992). Subjective memorability and the mirror effect.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,18, 681–690.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This research was supported by NIMH Grant 1R29MH5176501A1, awarded to A.J.O., by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, and by Texas Instruments.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Deffenbacher, K.A., Johanson, J., Vetter, T. et al. The face typicality-recognizability relationship: Encoding or retrieval locus?. Memory & Cognition 28, 1173–1182 (2000). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03211818
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03211818