Memory for faces in healthy younger and older adults

This study aims to measure recollection and familiarity processes for face-context stimuli pairs in healthy younger and older adults. The study aims to test the “butcher on the bus” phenomenon by modifying the methodology of past studies that have tested this phenomenon. Firstly, the essence of the “butcher on the bus” phenomenon is that we fail to recollect a person out of context because we have seen them many times in another context. This study will reflect this feeling of familiarity by repeating the facial stimuli used in the study phase (participants will view some face-context stimuli four times to facilitate familiarity, while other face-context stimuli will be shown once). Secondly, there will be images of people immersed in two distinct contexts (i.e., one stimulus will be an image of a person shopping in the grocery store, and another stimulus will be an image of that same person playing tennis on a tennis court), rather than a person’s face being shown side-by-side with different background images (Tunney et al., 2012; Gruppuso et al., 2007; Davies & Milne, 1982). We will measure recollection and familiarity from both ROC curves and from remember/know judgments. We will also test source memory.