Impact of interracial contact on memory biases and neural activity during impression formation of faces varying in perceptual and knowledge-based cues
Date
2024
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
We rely on perceptual and knowledge-based cues when we form impressions of others. Variations in available cues can contribute to memory biases and differentially engage brain regions involved in face processing and social cognition. In the current study, we examined the influence of lifetime interracial contact on self-identified White participants’ memory for faces varying in perceived race and individuating information over five behavioral training sessions. Following training, we investigated the influence of target attributes (perceived race, familiarity, and individuating information) and interracial contact on the neural correlates of impression formation. Results revealed that interracial contact influenced reductions in racial bias in face recognition over the training period. Specifically, low- and high-contact participants no longer displayed preferential accuracy for perceived White faces compared to perceived Black faces by sessions 5 and 3, respectively. However, participants continued to exhibit racial biases when identifying the valence of information paired with faces and recalling this information. During impression formation, the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC), precuneus, amygdala, and hippocampus exhibited increased activity in response to perceived White faces compared to perceived Black faces. Meanwhile, irrespective of perceived race, perceptually familiar faces paired with no information elicited reduced precuneus activity in high-contact participants compared to novel faces and faces paired with individuating information. Similarly, perceptually familiar faces elicited a weaker response in the left fusiform face area (FFA) in high-contact participants compared to faces paired with individuating information. Results indicating racial biases in memory and neural activity suggest that perceived White faces benefitted from greater individuation during encoding and impression formation. These findings also reveal nuances behind the impact of interracial contact on race-based memory biases and neural activity independent of perceived race.
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Keywords
Face recognition, Impression formation, Interracial contact, Neural substrates, Perceived race, Person-knowledge