CROSS-DOMAIN REPETITION PRIMING IN PERSON RECOGNITION

Three experiments examining repetition priming of personal names are r eported. In each experiment, faces are used as prime stimuli and peopl e's names as the test stimuli. Experiment 1 fails to demonstrate primi ng from faces to names when the same task-a familiar/unfamiliar judgem ent-is made in prime and test phases. Experiment 2 shows that priming is observed when the same semantic judgement (British/American) is mad e in prime and test phases. Experiment 3 shows that priming is observe d when different semantic judgements (dead/alive, British/American) ar e made at prime and test phase. These results suggest that transfer-ap propriate processing cannot provide the sole account of repetition pri ming in person recognition. Instead, the results are interpreted in te rms of a structural account of priming, embedded within an interactive activation and competition model of person recognition.