Cross-racial Recognition and Age: When You're Over 60, Do They Still "All Look Alike?"

Research involving college students has identified the existence of an "own-race bias" such that people tend to recognize facial pictures of members of their own race better than pictures of members of another racial group. Some theorists have assumed that this bias is greater among whites than among minority group members, although the research evidence is mixed. In the present study, the responses of elderly blacks and whites (mean age 72) were investigated. A significant race of subject by race of picture interaction was found, similar to that found with college students. The extent of own-race bias was significant for elderly black subjects but not for elderly whites. The implications of these findings are discussed.