Behavioral and neural evidence of enhanced long-term memory for untrustworthy faces
- In daily life, we automatically form impressions of other individuals on basis of subtle facial features that convey trustworthiness. Because these face-based judgements influence current and future social interactions, we investigated how perceived trustworthiness of faces affects long-term memory using event-related potentials (ERPs). In the current study, participants incidentally viewed 60 neutral faces differing in trustworthiness, and one week later, performed a surprise recognition memory task, in which the same old faces were presented intermixed with novel ones. We found that after one week untrustworthy faces were better recognized than trustworthy faces and that untrustworthy faces prompted early (350–550 ms) enhanced frontal ERP old/new differences (larger positivity for correctly remembered old faces, compared to novel ones) during recognition. Our findings point toward an enhanced long-lasting, likely familiarity-based, memory for untrustworthy faces. Even when trust judgments about a person do not necessarily need to beIn daily life, we automatically form impressions of other individuals on basis of subtle facial features that convey trustworthiness. Because these face-based judgements influence current and future social interactions, we investigated how perceived trustworthiness of faces affects long-term memory using event-related potentials (ERPs). In the current study, participants incidentally viewed 60 neutral faces differing in trustworthiness, and one week later, performed a surprise recognition memory task, in which the same old faces were presented intermixed with novel ones. We found that after one week untrustworthy faces were better recognized than trustworthy faces and that untrustworthy faces prompted early (350–550 ms) enhanced frontal ERP old/new differences (larger positivity for correctly remembered old faces, compared to novel ones) during recognition. Our findings point toward an enhanced long-lasting, likely familiarity-based, memory for untrustworthy faces. Even when trust judgments about a person do not necessarily need to be accurate, a fast access to memories predicting potential harm may be important to guide social behaviour in daily life.…
Author details: | Mathias WeymarORCiDGND, Carlos Ventura-BortORCiDGND, Julia WendtORCiDGND, Alexander LischkeORCiDGND |
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DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-55705-7 |
ISSN: | 2045-2322 |
Title of parent work (English): | Scientific Reports |
Publisher: | Macmillan Publishers Limited |
Place of publishing: | London |
Publication type: | Article |
Language: | English |
Date of first publication: | 2019/12/16 |
Publication year: | 2019 |
Release date: | 2020/01/20 |
Tag: | Amygdala; Appearance; Facial Expressions; Information; Metaanalysis; Perception; Recognition Memory; Recollection; Trust; Trustworthiness |
Volume: | 9 |
Number of pages: | 8 |
Funding institution: | Universität Potsdam |
Funding number: | PA 2019_130 |
Organizational units: | Humanwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Strukturbereich Kognitionswissenschaften |
DDC classification: | 5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 50 Naturwissenschaften / 500 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik |
6 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / 60 Technik / 600 Technik, Technologie | |
Peer review: | Referiert |
Grantor: | Publikationsfonds der Universität Potsdam |
Publishing method: | Open Access |
License (German): | CC-BY - Namensnennung 4.0 International |
External remark: | Zweitveröffentlichung in der Schriftenreihe Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe ; 594 |