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Title: Examining the Contribution of Physical Cues for Same- and Cross-Race Face Individuation
Face individuation involves sensitivity to physical characteristics that provide information about identity. We examined whether Black and White American faces differ in terms of individuating information, and whether Black and White perceivers differentially weight information when judging same-race and cross-race faces. Study 1 analyzed 20 structural metrics (e.g., eye width, nose length) of 158 Black and White faces to determine which differentiate faces within each group. High-utility metrics (e.g., nose length, eye height, chin length) differentiated faces of both groups, low-utility metrics (e.g., face width, eye width, face length) offered less individuating information. Study 2 ( N = 4,510) explored Black and White participants’ sensitivity to variation on structural metrics using similarity ratings. High-utility metrics affected perceived dissimilarity more than low-utility metrics. This relationship was non-significantly stronger for same-race faces rather than cross-race faces. Perceivers also relied more on features that were racially stereotypic of the faces they were rating.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1946788
PAR ID:
10389775
Author(s) / Creator(s):
 ;  ;  ;  
Publisher / Repository:
SAGE Publications
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
Volume:
50
Issue:
5
ISSN:
0146-1672
Format(s):
Medium: X Size: p. 694-714
Size(s):
p. 694-714
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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