Abstract
In this study, we used the distinction between remember and know (R/K) recognition responses to investigate the retrieval of episodic information during familiar face and voice recognition. The results showed that familiar faces presented in standard format were recognized with R responses on approximately 50% of the trials. The corresponding figure for voices was less than 20%. Even when overall levels of recognition were matched between faces and voices by blurring the faces, significantly more R responses were observed for faces than for voices. Voices were significantly more likely to be recognized with K responses than were blurred faces. These findings indicate that episodic information was recalled more often from familiar faces than from familiar voices. The results also showed that episodic information about a familiar person was never recalled unless some semantic information, such as the person’s occupation, was also retrieved.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Brandt, K., Macrae, N. C., Schloerscheidt, A. M., &Milne, A. B. (2003). Remembering or knowing others? Person recognition and recollective experience.Memory,11, 89–100.
Bruce, V., &Young, A. W. (1986). Understanding face recognition.British Journal of Psychology,77, 305–327.
Burton, A. M., Bruce, V., &Hancock, P. J. B. (1999). From pixels to people: A model of familiar face recognition.Cognitive Science,23, 1–31.
Donaldson, W. (1996). The role of decision processes in remembering and knowing.Memory & Cognition,24, 523–533.
Gardiner, J. M. (1988). Functional aspects of recollective experience.Memory & Cognition,16, 309–313.
Gardiner, J. M., Ramponi, C., &Richardson-Klavehn, A. (1998). Experiences of remembering, knowing, and guessing.Consciousness & Cognition,7, 1–26.
Hanley, J. R., &Cowell, E. S. (1988). The effects of different types of retrieval cues on the recall of names of famous faces.Memory & Cognition,16, 545–555.
Hanley, J. R., Smith, S. T., &Hadfield, J. (1998). I recognize you but I can’t place you: An investigation of familiar-only experiences during tests of voice and face recognition.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,51A, 179–195.
Hanley, J. R., &Turner, J. M. (2000). Why are familiar-only experiences more frequent for voices than for faces?Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,53A, 1105–1116.
Hay, D. C., Young, A. W., &Ellis, A. W. (1991). Routes through the face recognition system.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,43A, 761–791.
Mäntylä, T. (1997). Recollection of faces: Remembering differences and knowing similarities.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,23, 1203–1216.
Perfect, T. J., Williams, R. B., &Anderton-Brown, C. (1995). Age differences in reported recollective experience are due to encoding effects, not response bias.Memory,3, 169–186.
Schweinberger, S. R., Herholz, A., &Steif, V. (1997). Auditory long-term memory: Repetition priming of voice recognition.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,50A, 498–517.
Tulving, E. (1985). Memory and consciousness.Canadian Psychology,26, 1–12.
Valentine, T., Brennen, T., &Bredart, S. (1996).The cognitive psychology of proper names. London: Routledge.
Van Lancker, D., Kreiman, J., &Emmorey, K. (1985). Familiar voice recognition: Patterns and parameters. I: Recognition of backward voices.Journal of Phonetics,13, 19–38.
Van Lancker, D., Kreiman, J., &Wickens, T. D. (1985). Familiar voice recognition: Patterns and parameters. II: Recognition of ratealtered voices.Journal of Phonetics,13, 39–52.
Westmacott, R., Black, S. E., Freedman, M., &Moscovitch, M. (2003). The contribution of autobiographical significance to semantic memory: Evidence from Alzheimer’s disease, semantic dementia, and amnesia.Neuropsychologia,42, 25–48.
Westmacott, R., &Moscovitch, M. (2003). The contribution of autobiographical significance to semantic memory.Memory & Cognition,31, 761–774.
Young, A. W., Hay, D. C., &Ellis, A. W. (1985). The faces that launched a thousand slips: Everyday difficulties and errors in recognizing people.Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,38A, 297–318.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Electronic supplementary material
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Damjanovic, L., Hanley, J.R. Recalling episodic and semantic information about famous faces and voices. Memory & Cognition 35, 1205–1210 (2007). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193594
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193594