Abstract
Here we investigated how the language in which a person addresses us, native or foreign, influences subsequent face recognition. In an old/new paradigm, we explored the behavioral and electrophysiological activity associated with face recognition memory. Participants were first presented with faces accompanied by voices speaking either in their native (NL) or foreign language (FL). Faces were then presented in isolation and participants decided whether the face was presented before (old) or not (new). The results revealed that participants were more accurate at remembering faces previously paired with their native as opposed to their FL. At the event-related potential (ERP) level, we obtained evidence that faces in the NL were differently encoded from those in the FL condition, potentially due to differences in processing demands. During recognition, the frontal old/new effect was present (with a difference in latency) regardless of the language with which a face was associated, while the parietal old/new effect appeared only for faces associated with the native language. These results suggest that the language of our social interactions has an impact on the memory processes underlying the recognition of individuals.
Highlights
IntroductionInteraction with individuals in a language other than our mother-tongue is increasingly common
In this globalized world, interaction with individuals in a language other than our mother-tongue is increasingly common
Language had an impact on face recognition: faces paired with the native language (NL) were recognized more accurately than faces paired with the foreign language (FL) [t(32) = 2.6, p = 0.01, d = 0.46]
Summary
Interaction with individuals in a language other than our mother-tongue is increasingly common. Consider for instance the following situation: a Spanish native speaker who is proficient in English is interviewing Spanish and English speaking candidates in their native language (NL) for a job. Will the language used during the interview influence the subsequent recognition of the candidates and the final candidate selection? Does the language in which we interact with others affect subsequent memory of those individuals? We explore whether and when memory processes underlying face recognition are affected by the language used by the individuals, native or FL. Kinzler et al (2007) observed that infants show a preference for speakers using the infant’s NL. When the two faces were presented silently, side-by-side, infants looked longer at the woman who previously spoke the infant’s NL (see Kinzler et al, 2009).
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