Does Repetition Always Make Perfect? Differential Effects of Repetition on Learning of Own-Race and Other-Race Faces

Abstract People have a remarkable capacity to process and recognize faces. Yet, they fail to recognize the faces of individuals from other racial groups - the Other-Race Effect (ORE). We investigated the role of repetition - a powerful determinant of learning and memory - in reducing the ORE. We predicted that repetition would improve face learning, particularly for other-race faces, as these are poorly learned based on a single presentation. Because own-race faces are easily learned based on a unique presentation, they should benefit less from repetition. We tested this hypothesis across five experiments. Results showed that repetition not only did not reduce the ORE, but instead, it increased it. We discuss the theoretical implications of these findings for the ORE.