Memory for names and faces: a characteristic of social intelligence?

Abstract

This experiment was designed to analyze factors which are related to performance on the Memory for Names and Faces subtest of the George Washington University Social Intelligence Test (7). One might, but probably should not, say that the memory-fornames-and-faces type of test has high face validity. The basic experimental task requires the subject to associate a name with a face. The testee is asked to memorize the names of a number of portrait photographs. Later, the testee is given a larger group of photographs and requested to identify the pictures previously studied. Most testees and not a few employment managers assume that this type of test measures a useful social skill. Many individuals who successfully deal with large numbers of people are reputed to have phenomenal memories for names and faces. Presumably the ability to say, "Hello, Mr Piccalilli, I believe we met eight years ago in the elevator at Radio City, 1 ' serves as an egoinflating stimulus which tends to make Mr. Piccalilli more likely to buy an insurance policy or cast a vote for a particular candidate. Presumably, also, to address Mr. Piccalilli as Mr. Mustard will be taken as a direct assault upon his person, and the sale or the vote will be irretrievably lost.Tests requiring the association of a name with a face enjoy considerable popularity. Besides being included in the George Washington scale, this type of test is included in the Factored Aptitude Series (3) which is reportedly used by many industrial organizations. The manual of the latter states, "... the ability measured is broader than test content. Good memory for names and faces also means ability to recall other types of information." Performance on the memory-for-faces test is reported by the manual to be related to performance on such jobs as: agent, buyer, manager, receptionist, salesman, telephone operator, and waiter.

Sex differences in ability to recognize family resemblance

“…Contrary to the expectations of many who heard about this study, the ability to judge family resemblance is not influenced by age, number of children, number of siblings, education, or marital status. These results suggest that ability to recognize family resemblance does not improve in any regular way with experience, and that it might be, like memory for faces, a relatively fixed aspect of social intelligence (Kaess and Witryol 1955).…”

Recognition Memory for Faces and Scenes

“…However, no consensus about the overall relationship between intelligence and facial recognition memory has emerged. The majority of research has found no significant relationship (Bowles et al, 2009;Dobson & Rust, 1994;Feinman & Entwisle, 1976;Howells, 1938;Kaess & Witryol, 1955;McCartney, 1987;Wojcikiewicz, 1990; however, see Diesfeldt & Vink, 1989;Herlitz & Yonker, 2002). However, most previous studies did not differentiate between visuospatial and verbal intelligence and did not test multiple retention intervals.…”

The Role of Gender in Face Recognition

“…Women more often work in fields where interactions with other persons are necessary (Lippa, 1998), girls' play behavior is more oriented towards dolls than towards mechanical toys (Collaer & Hines, 1995), and girls and women have deeper and more sustained face-to-face friendships, especially with other females (Sherman et al, 2000). Further, girls and women more accurately discriminate between facial emotions than men do (McClure, 2000) and women more accurately remember people's names (Kaess & Witroll, 1955). These findings from other research areas seem to suggest that females and males are oriented towards other people to different degree.…”