Depth of processing, context, and face recognition.

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Abstract
Two experiments attempted to improve face recognition by accompanying the faces with elaborative contextual information regarding the personality and background of the person depicted. In neither experiment did elaboration lead to better subsequent recognition of the face presented without context. A 3rd study explored the role of context as a potential retrieval cue. Faces were accompanied by descriptive phrases which might or might not accompany the appropriate face during recognition. A previously presented context had a substantial effect on response bias, but little effect on the discriminability of the memory trace. Comparable data from verbal memory are discussed, and a distinction drawn between independent context in which the context and stimulus are processed separately, and interactive context in which the context modifies the encoding of the stimulus.

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