Tuning of face expertise with a racially heterogeneous face-diet

Abstract

ABSTRACT The contact hypothesis posits that a racially-homogenous face-diet, in part, accounts for the other-race effect (ORE)—a difficulty in recognizing other-race faces. This account does not specify whether racial homogeneity of face exposure is necessary to achieving native-level expertise for own-race faces. Here we propose three new models that complement and extend the contact hypothesis: the experience-limited, the capacity-limited, and the enhancement hypotheses, each with differing predictions in the context of abundant exposure to multiple race categories. The experience-limited account proposes that greater experience always leads to better performance. The alternative capacity-limited account allows for detrimental effects of racially-heterogeneous exposure. The enhancement account predicts heterogeneity of exposure confers added benefits. In two experiments we examined face recognition in a group with sustained lifetime exposure to Caucasian and East Asian faces (dual exposure) in comparison to two mono exposure groups. Dual-exposure individuals showed native-like performance on the face recognition tasks for both Caucasian and East Asian faces. We found no evidence of a detrimental or an enhancing effect of racially-heterogeneous face exposure. Overall, our results support the experience-limited account of face expertise. We conclude that a racially homogeneous face-diet is not necessary to achieve native-level face expertise.