To see the Brad Pitts through the Actors: How Race, Gender, and Familiarity Affect the Categorization of Faces

Abstract

A single object can bring a multitude of categories to your mind. For instance, a singular dog can evoke terms such as living being, animal, dog, or most specifically, German shepherd. Prior research has indicated that the abstractness of these terms indicates its level on the taxonomic hierarchy. The level of abstraction used first has been found to vary as a function of object typicality and the expertise of the viewer. When applying this framework to social categorization, previous research has found that differences in group membership (such as race or gender), as well as familiarity with the object itself can influence what level comes first to mind. As much of this research has been conducted using cognitive and behavioral methods, the present research takes a different approach by allowing participants to make multiple free-response answers to a single stimulus. Using a free-response paradigm, this study explored how differences in race (Black or White), gender (man or woman), and level of familiarity (high or low) affects the categorization of faces. Analyses revealed that participants used identity terms sooner than either race or gender terms; moreover, this relationship was strengthened by the familiarity of the target. Moreover, the race and gender of participants and target image influenced the entry point of social categorizations. In sum, these findings highlight how social identity and familiarity can influence a perceiver’s first categorization about the people around them.