Task-specific associations between holistic processing and individual differences in face memory.

Abstract

Whether individual differences in face identification can be predicted by holistic processing, and whether both share a common underlying mechanism, remain open questions. Past studies exploring this association have produced mixed findings, but they have typically examined only a subset of holistic processing measures, focused largely on identification tasks relying heavily on face perception rather than memory, and/or failed to examine whether the relationship between holistic processing and face identification is face-specific. The present study is the first to examine how all three traditional measures of holistic face processing—the face inversion, part-whole, and composite face tasks—relate to individual differences in memory-based face identification, while also exploring whether these relationships are independent of non-face object identification. We found that face memory was associated with the face inversion and part-whole effects, but not the composite face effect. Exploratory factor analyses revealed two mechanisms of holistic face processing. The first component was loaded moderately by face memory, inversion, and part-whole effects, while the second was loaded strongly by the composite face effect. The findings suggest that face recognition is not facilitated by a single, unitary holistic processing mechanism and highlight the need to reconsider how holistic processing is conceptualized and measured.