Khurana, Beena, Smith, W C and Baker, M T (2000) Not to be and then to be: Visual representation of ignored unfamiliar faces. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 26 (1). pp. 246-263. ISSN 0096-1523

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Abstract

Negative priming, the increase in response time and/or errors to targets previously encountered as distractors, is explained by inhibitory mechanisms that block the access of distractor representations to response systems. The processing of unfamiliar human faces was investigated using negative priming. Observers viewed a row of faces to decide whether 2 target faces were the same or different. Response latencies were longer when 1 or both targets had appeared as distractors on the immediately preceding trial - evidence that never-before seen faces are represented and require inhibition. Response latencies were shorter when face targets had appeared as distractors, either corrupted with high-frequency noise or contrast inverted - evidence that representations are facilitated. Finally, response latencies remained unaltered when face targets had appeared as upside-down distractors - evidence that not all distractor representations afford response priming. The visual system indeed represents ignored unfamiliar faces, but blocks these representations only if they vie with targets for the control of action.

Item Type:	Article
Schools and Departments:	School of Psychology > Psychology
Depositing User:	Beena Khurana
Date Deposited:	06 Feb 2012 15:31
Last Modified:	06 Jun 2012 14:51
URI:	http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/13092

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