Abstract
In this study, participants rated previously unseen faces on six dimensions: familiarity, distinctiveness, attractiveness, memorability, typicality, and resemblance to a familiar person. The faces were then presented again in a recognition test in which participants assigned their positive recognition decisions to either remember (R), know (K), or guess categories. On all dimensions except typicality, faces that were categorized as R responses were associated with significantly higher ratings than were faces categorized as K responses. Study ratings for R and K responses were then subjected to a principal components analysis. The factor loadings suggested that R responses were influenced primarily by the distinctiveness of faces, but K responses were influenced by moderate ratings on all six dimensions. These findings indicate that the structural features of a face influence the subjective experience of recognition.
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This research was supported by Grant R000237594 awarded by the Economic and Social Research Council of Great Britain.
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Dewhurst, S.A., Hay, D.C. & Wickham, L.H.V. Distinctiveness, typicality, and recollective experience in face recognition: A principal components analysis. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 12, 1032–1037 (2005). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03206439
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03206439