面孔识别研究中的“异族效应”和“本族效应”

The “Other-Race Effect” and “Own-Race Effect” in Face Recognition Research

摘要: 面孔识别中的“异族效应”与“本族效应”在可塑性上差异显著，前者难以重塑，后者则易受经验调整。关键原因在于：婴儿期知觉窄化使大脑优先加工本族面孔，削弱对异族面孔的敏感性；3~9个月为面孔系统“特化”关键期，缺乏异族输入即形成固化模板，后期难逆转。神经层面，异族面孔记忆编码简略，整体加工不足；社会认知上，其被自动归为“外群体”，个体化动机低，注意资源减少，识别成绩受限。相反，本族效应随接触量、社会动机及文化环境变化而动态更新，呈现高度适应性。因此，教育干预应在一岁前提供多元种族面孔与积极情绪配对，推迟窄化窗口，为跨文化认知保留神经可塑空间。

Abstract: In face recognition, the “other-race effect” (ORE) and the “own-race effect” (ORE) differ markedly in plasticity: the former is hard to reshape, whereas the latter is readily updated by experience. The key reason is perceptual narrowing during infancy: the brain is tuned to prioritize own-race faces, which reduces sensitivity to other-race faces. The period between 3 and 9 months is a critical window for face-system specialization; if input from other races is absent, a rigid template is formed that is difficult to reverse later. At the neural level, other-race faces receive sparse mnemonic encoding and are processed less holistically. Social-cognitively, they are automatically categorized as “out-group,” lowering individuation motivation and attentional resources, which constrains recognition performance. Conversely, the own-race effect is dynamically updated by amount of contact, social motivation, and cultural context, showing high adaptability. Therefore, educational interventions should expose infants to diverse racial faces paired with positive affect before the first birthday, delaying the narrowing window and preserving neural plasticity for cross-cultural cognition.