台灣年輕人與年長者臉孔記憶與臉孔處理之年齡差異

Age Differences in Face Memory and Face Processing between Younger and Older Adults in Taiwan

本研究目的有三：（一）以選材自台灣大學生蒐集之臉孔影像，建構一套符合台灣社會文化特質的臉孔記憶測驗，（二）藉由臉孔處理作業檢驗臉孔記憶可能的潛在機制，及（三）檢驗臉孔記憶與臉孔處理機制的年齡差異。我們依循劍橋臉孔記憶測驗（Cambridge Face Memory Test, CFMT）的流程，設計三階段的測驗以逐步提升難度，並使用台灣大學生基本情緒臉部表情資料庫之影像，建構出台灣臉孔記憶測驗（Taiwanese Face Memory Test, TFMT）。本研究一顯示台灣臉孔記憶測驗施測結果與劍橋臉孔記憶測驗相仿，而研究二及研究三則發現年輕參與者在台灣臉孔記憶測驗及三項臉孔處理作業之表現皆優於年長參與者。年輕組在部件與組態作業中皆展現臉孔倒立效果，而年長參與者僅年齡最高組別於組態作業中出現此效果。相反地，在複合臉作業中，年輕組與年長組皆出現聯對與一致性的交互作用，顯示不分年齡參與者皆可以對臉孔進行整體性處理。我們接著採取迴歸分析探討臉孔記憶測驗與臉孔處理作業的之間的關係，結果發現三項臉孔處理作業觸及各自不同層面的整體處理，而由部件作業及其倒立效應所攫取之整體處理，最有可能主導了臉孔記憶的表現。綜合而言，本研究之結果顯示雖然台灣的年輕人與年長者在面對臉孔時存在著不同的處理風格或策略，更發現兩類年齡的參與者皆是藉由部件作業所揭露的整體與非整體處理，來達成對臉孔記憶的登錄以及事後對該記憶的提取。

The main goal of the present study was threefold: (1) to establish a test that utilizes face images collected and normed in the Taiwanese society in order to provide a culturally calibrated tool for assessing face memory ability, (2) to examine the relationship between face memory performance and a range of face processing tasks to reveal underlying mechanisms that may play an important role in face memory, and (3) to investigate the relationship between age differences in face memory performance and those in holistic processing as revealed by the face processing tasks. To create the Taiwanese face memory test (TFMT), we followed the procedure of Cambridge Face Memory Test (CFMT), and used images from a Taiwanese face database. Like CFMT, TFMT was administered in three stages with increasing difficulty. The results of TFMT revealed a pattern almost identical to that found with CFMT (Study 1). In addition, younger adults outperformed older adults in TFMT as well as in all three face processing tasks (Studies 2 & 3). Furthermore, while younger adults exhibited reliable inversion effects in both component and configural tasks, older adults failed to do so except for the oldest subgroup showing inversion effect in the configural task. In contrast, older adults exhibited a pattern of interaction between alignment and congruency similar to that found with younger adults for the composite task, demonstrating both age groups can process faces holistically. Regression analyses on the relationship between face memory and face processing performances for both age groups revealed that, while each face processing task has its own share of holistic processing, they may be tapping into different aspects of holistic processing. Moreover, holistic processing captured by the component task and its inversion effect, entailing subtle spatial relationship between local facial features and landmarks, may underlie face memory performance for both younger and older adults in Taiwan. Taken together, besides showcasing distinct styles or strategies between younger and older adults in coping with the specific demands of each face processing task, our findings suggest that our participants, both young and old, appeared to rely upon the same aspects of holistic and non-holistic processing revealed by the component task, for encoding and later retrieving memory for faces.