Enhanced memory for faces of cheaters

Abstract

Under the guise of a test-retest reliability study, students were asked to rate the attractiveness of photo reproductions of Caucasian males. Each of the photo reproductions was presented with a fictional descriptive sentence giving information on the depicted individual's social status (high or low) and character (history of cheating, irrelevant information, or history of trustworthiness). A week later subjects again rated photos—half repeated and half new—this time, without descriptions. Subjects were asked to report which of the photos they remembered from the previous week. Responses were analyzed in a 2×3×2 factorial design, with the third factor being sex of respondent. The predicted bias—that subjects would preferentially recognize faces initially presented as those of cheaters—was confirmed. There were also two significant interations: (1) the bias was mitigated when the face was also presented as a person of high status; and (2) the bias was stronger for males than for females. The results support the idea that we have evolved highly selective attention and storage mechanisms for processing social information, and that both character (cheating potential) and status are important features in the engagement of these mechanisms.