STEREOTYPES AND RECOGNITION MEMORY FOR FACES AND VOICES OF GOOD GUYS AND BAD GUYS

This study tested first whether 240 undergraduate students share high consensual agreement in their selection of faces and voices which fit criminal and non-criminal 'occupations'; second, whether there are sig nificant relationships between trait impressions and voice characteris tics for persons selected as exemplars of criminals and non-criminals; and third, whether categorization of targets into 'good guys' and 'ba d guys' influences recognition memory. Subjects' selections of exempla rs of criminals and non-criminals from video recordings of the face an d voice, or face-only, or voice-only of 15 white men were done with hi gh confidence in a significantly non-random manner. Significant correl ations were found between trait impressions and vocal characteristics in all three presentation modes which differentiated good guys from ba d guys. Recognition memory for target voices was significantly inferio r to the recognition of face and voice targets, and face-only targets. Recognition confidence scores were significantly higher for good guys over bad guys, especially in the voice-only condition. The results we re discussed in terms of the probability that stereotyping of faces an d voices can influence decision-making in the legal process.