Lifetime perceptual experience shapes face memory for own- and other-race faces

Abstract

Adults show impaired recognition of other-race compared to own-race faces. This other-race effect (ORE) is suggested to be the result of asymmetrical perceptual experience with own- and other-race faces during development. However, it is unclear whether the impact of experience on adults’ ORE differs across development, and whether experience during adulthood can exert similar effects as experience during development. To investigate these questions, we tested face recognition in White adults, East Asian (EA) adults born and raised in Canada, and EA adults who immigrated to Canada at different ages from infancy to adulthood. When recognizing upright faces, White adults and EA immigrants demonstrated a reliable ORE, whereas EA adults born in Canada showed no ORE. These effects were not present when recognizing inverted faces. Notably, age of arrival positively predicts the magnitude of the ORE. Our study highlights the influence of early experience on the ORE and suggests that the ORE appears relatively unmalleable during adolescence and adulthood.