Recognition memory for distractor faces depends on attentional load at exposure

Incidental recognition memory for faces previously exposed as task-irrelevant distractors was assessed as a function of the attentional load of an unrelated task performed on superimposed letter strings at exposure. In Experiment 1, subjects were told to ignore the faces and either to judge the color of the letters (low load) or to search for an angular target letter among other angular letters (high load). A surprise recognition memory test revealed that despite the irrelevance of all faces at exposure, those exposed under low-load conditions were later recognized, but those exposed under high-load conditions were not. Experiment 2 found a similar pattern when both the high- and low-load tasks required shape judgments for the letters but made differing attentional demands. Finally, Experiment 3 showed that high load in a nonface task can significantly reduce even immediate recognition of a fixated face from the preceding trial. These results demonstrate that load in a nonface domain (e.g., letter shape) can reduce face recognition, in accord with Lavie’s load theory. In addition to their theoretical impact, these results may have practical implications for eyewitness testimony.