“Functional Race Membership” and Recognition of Faces

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Abstract
White students enrolled in a black studies course displayed better recognition accuracy for black faces than for white faces. All other groups (white and black) displayed better accuracy for faces of their own respective races than for other-race faces. Results suggest that for some perceptual performances, “objective” race membership may be less important than allegiance and interest. “Functional race membership” is suggested as a descriptive concept. For black and “functionally black” perceivers, differential recognition accuracy as a function of race is minimized when black faces are in the majority. There is weak evidence that the dependence of differential recognition accuracy on proportional representation of the races is enhanced when race membership is salient.

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