What’s in the name? Categorical perception for unfamiliar faces can occur through labeling

The conditions under which categorical perception (CP) occurs for unfamiliar faces are unclear. Although CP is generally found only for familiar faces, it has been reported for unfamiliar faces after brief training (Levin & Beale, 2000) or even without any learning of the original faces (Campane...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychonomic bulletin & review 2008-08, Vol.15 (4), p.787-794
Main Authors: Kikutani, M., Roberson, D., Hanley, J. R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Attention
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Biological and medical sciences
Brief Reports
Cognitive Psychology
Discrimination
Discrimination Learning
Experiments
Face
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Generalization, Stimulus
Humans
Male
Names
Pattern Recognition, Visual
Perception
Perceptual Distortion
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Recognition (Psychology)
Semantics
Studies
Twins
Vision
Young Adult
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Summary:The conditions under which categorical perception (CP) occurs for unfamiliar faces are unclear. Although CP is generally found only for familiar faces, it has been reported for unfamiliar faces after brief training (Levin & Beale, 2000) or even without any learning of the original faces (Campanella, Hanoteau, Seron, Joassin, & Bruyer, 2003). Three experiments investigated whether CP can be observed for an unfamiliar morphed face continuum without preexposure to the endpoints of the continuum (Experiment 1); with brief exposure to the endpoints (Experiment 2); or with exposure to named endpoints (Experiment 3). CP was always observed for matched pairs of famous faces. However, CP for unfamiliar faces was induced only when participants observed names paired with the endpoint faces before the start of the experiment. The results suggest that CP effects for unfamiliar faces can be observed extremely rapidly when clear category labels are presented.
ISSN:1069-9384
1531-5320
DOI:10.3758/PBR.15.4.787