Lost properties? Retrieval differences between name codes and semantic codes for familiar people

SummaryTwo experiments compared decision times for matching tasks involving the names and faces of familiar people. In Experiment 1 category and property judgements were compared when subjects were asked to respond to simultaneously presented stimuli: blocks of either faces or surnames. The results showed that the advantage known to exist for category statements extended to these types of materials. In Experiment 2 the same type of property judgement was compared with a first-name-matching task. The finding was that forename judgements required a longer decision time than property judgements when faces were the presented stimuli, bot not when surnames were used. This result lends further support to the Bruce and Young (1986) model of face recognition. It is additional evidence for sequential access to identity-specific codes and name codes from faces and for the functional separation of these two types of information.

[1]  Roger S. Brown,et al.  The "Tip of the Tongue" Phenomenon , 1966 .

[2]  E. Warrington,et al.  An Experimental Investigation of Facial Recognition in Patients with Unilateral Cerebral Lesions , 1967 .

[3]  M. Ross Quillian,et al.  Retrieval time from semantic memory , 1969 .

[4]  A. D. Yarmey,et al.  I recognize your face but I can’t remember your name: Further evidence on the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon , 1973, Memory & cognition.

[5]  Allan Collins,et al.  A spreading-activation theory of semantic processing , 1975 .

[6]  D L Hintzman,et al.  What causes the spacing effect? Some effects of repetition, duration, and spacing on memory for pictures , 1975, Memory & cognition.

[7]  M. Potter,et al.  Time to understand pictures and words , 1975, Nature.

[8]  D. Rubin.  Within word structure in the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon. , 1975 .

[9]  V. S. Reed,et al.  Learning to Order Pictures and Words: A Model of Sensory and Semantic Encoding. , 1977 .

[10]  J. Hampton.  The verification of category and property statements , 1984, Memory & cognition.

[11]  A. Young,et al.  The faces that launched a thousand slips: everyday difficulties and errors in recognizing people. , 1985, British journal of psychology.

[12]  A. Young,et al.  Understanding face recognition. , 1986, British journal of psychology.

[13]  A. Young,et al.  Access to Identity-Specific Semantic Codes from Familiar Faces , 1986, The Quarterly journal of experimental psychology. A, Human experimental psychology.

[14]  J. Sergent.  Microgenesis of Face Perception , 1986 .

[15]  A. Young,et al.  Aspects of face processing , 1986 .

[16]  A. Young,et al.  Face-name interference. , 1986, Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance.

[17]  A. Young,et al.  Putting names to faces , 1987 .

[18]  A. Young,et al.  Accessing stored information about familiar people , 1988 .