Individuation instructions decrease the Cross-Race Effect in a face matching task

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Individuation instructions decrease the Cross-Race Effect in a face matching task Prachi Batra1* and Mitchell Longstaff1 1 Southern Cross University, Psychology, School of Health and Human Sciences, Australia Aims: The increased tendency to incorrectly identify faces from unfamiliar (or cross) races (CR), termed the Cross-Race Effect (CRE), holds significant relevance in identity verification environments. Research reveals that individuation instructions heighten perceiver motivation to attend to identity-diagnostic features of CR faces, thereby reducing the CRE. Previous research has predominantly employed sequential face presentation paradigms, which do not simulate practical applications such as document screening. This study sought to determine the efficacy of individuation instructions in ameliorating the CRE within an unfamiliar face matching task (UFMT). Method: Caucasian participants (n=38) were allocated to either the training (n=18) or control group. All participants completed a baseline UFMT comprised of grey-scale Chinese (cross-race) and Caucasian (same-race (SR)) faces. In training, participants received individuation instructions while the control group received unrelated instructions. All participants then viewed successively presented faces (20 CR and 20 SR) followed by a second UFMT. Results: Overall, face matching accuracy was high (M = 87%, SE =1). Accuracy for CR faces significantly improved (by 7.2%) following individuation instructions, t(1, 17) = -4.2014, p = .001, however no change was found for SR faces, t(1, 17) = .762, p = .456. In the control group, face matching accuracy for SR faces decreased (by 4.4%) following instructions, t(1, 19) = 2.682, p = .015, however no change was found for CR faces, t(1, 19) = .827, p = .418. That is, face matching accuracy for CR faces improved for participants receiving individuation instructions but not for the control group. Conclusions: Individuation instructions are an effective moderator of the CRE even within a face matching paradigm. Since unfamiliar face matching tasks most closely simulate document verification tasks, specifically passport screening, instructional techniques such as these may improve task performance within applied settings of significant practical importance. Keywords: face perception, Face matching, individuation, Cross-Race Effect, Document screening Conference: 12th Annual Psychology Research Conference, 2015, Coffs Harbour, Australia, 25 Sep - 26 Sep, 2015. Presentation Type: Research Topic: Psychology Citation: Batra P and Longstaff M (2015). Individuation instructions decrease the Cross-Race Effect in a face matching task. Front. Psychol. Conference Abstract: 12th Annual Psychology Research Conference, 2015. doi: 10.3389/conf.fpsyg.2015.66.00017 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 23 Sep 2015; Published Online: 23 Sep 2015. * Correspondence: Ms. Prachi Batra, Southern Cross University, Psychology, School of Health and Human Sciences, Coffs Harbour, NSW, 2450, Australia, p.batra.10@student.scu.edu.au Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Prachi Batra Mitchell Longstaff Google Prachi Batra Mitchell Longstaff Google Scholar Prachi Batra Mitchell Longstaff PubMed Prachi Batra Mitchell Longstaff Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.