Different features for different races: Tracking the eyes of Asian, Black, and White participants viewing Asian, Black, and White Faces

Abstract

The own-race bias (ORB) is an effect in which humans remember faces from their own race better than faces from another race. Where people look when processing faces of different races plays a role in this effect, but the exact relationship between looking and the ORB is debated. One perspective is that the same facial features are important for memory for faces of all races and the ORB emerges when people look longer at the useful features for own- than other-race faces. Another perspective is that different facial features are useful for faces of different races and the ORB emerges when people look longer at features that are useful for their own race than at features that are useful for other-race faces. The present study aimed to discriminate these perspectives by examining looking patterns in Asian, Black, and White participants while they learned and later recognized Asian, Black, and White faces. Regardless of their race, participants looked at different facial features depending on the race of the face. In addition, different features were useful for memory depending on the race of the face. As such, results are in line with the perspective that different facial features are useful for different race faces.