Naming faces and naming names: Exploring an interactive activation model of person recognition

A. Mike Burton, Vicki Bruce

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

90 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In this paper we present an interactive activation and competition (IAC) model of name recognition. This is an extension of a previous account of name retrieval (Burton & Bruce, 1992) and is based on a functional model due to Valentine, Bredart, Lawson, and Ward (1991). Several empirical effects of name recognition are simulated: (1) names that are known are read faster than names that are unknown; (2) common names are read faster than rare names; and (3) rare names are recognised as familiar faster than common names. The simulations demonstrate that these complex effects can arise as a natural consequence of the architecture of the IAC model. Finally, we explore a modification of the Valentine et al. functional model, and conclude that the model as originally proposed is best able to account for the available data.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)457-480
Number of pages24
JournalMemory
Volume1
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 1993
Externally publishedYes

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Naming faces and naming names: Exploring an interactive activation model of person recognition'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this