DOES IMITATION ENHANCE MEMORY FOR FACES - 4 CONVERGING STUDIES

Four multimethod studies probed the hypothesis, derived from the Zajon c-Markus motor theory of emotion, that facial recognition is enhanced by imitation of the faces. In all studies, participants were (a) rando mly assigned to imitate or to concentrate on a set of faces presented on slides; (b) covertly videotaped, or measured for facial electromyog raphic responses, to assess facial motor responsiveness; (c) asked to recognize faces previously seen from a larger set; and (d) asked to co mplete individual difference measures relevant to imitation or memory. The major dependent variable was the percentage of faces accurately r ecognized. Across variations in procedure, persons who initially imita ted faces later recognized fewer faces than did persons in various con trol conditions. No evidence was found for individual difference moder ators of this general conclusion. Results call into question the adequ acy of the Zajonc-Markus motoric theory explanation of memory for face s.