GENDER DIFFERENCES IN RECOGNITION MEMORY FOR FACES AND CARS - EVIDENCE FOR THE INTEREST HYPOTHESIS

Two experiments investigated gender differences in recognition memory for faces and cars. Stimuli were line drawings of cars and of adult me n and women (Experiment 1) and photographs of real cars and of real bo ys and girls (Experiment 2). In both experiments, performance was bett er on faces than on cars. Regarding recognition memory for men's faces , in Experiment 1, men's scores were higher than women's scores. Howev er, in Experiment 2, men recognized more cars than did women, and wome n recognized more children than did men. Results are generally consist ent with the hypothesis that memory reflects male and female interest in, and/or differential familiarity for, different kinds of material.