A perspective on the recognition of other-race faces

Abstract

The purpose of the present study is to provide a perspective on the recognition of other-race faces, i.e., black faces by white subjects. Past research has indicated that individuals have greater difficulty recognizing other-race faces than they do same-race faces. On the basis of previous findings, we chose to investigate the recognition of black faces by white subjects as a function of the quantity and quality of previous experience with blacks, racial attitudes, field dependence/independence, and recognition training. Forty-two white subjects participated in pre-, post-, and delayed recognition tests. Subject data were also collected to explore individual differences in recognition performance. Using multiple regression techniques, it was found that field dependence/independence accounted for the largest proportion of variance in recognition performances; a feature-discrimination training task and past experience with blacks were also found to significantly relate to recognition performance. The applied aspects of these results are discussed. © 1976 Psychonomic Society, Inc.