Gender Differences in Memory for Social and Inanimate Visuals in a Mediated Environment

• In Event: Research Exploring Individual Differences

Abstract

A high capacity for visual perception distinguishes Homo sapiens from other primates. This ability to detect social cues and retain visual social records has been tested mostly with static facial images in laboratory settings. Findings point to better memory for social objects (e.g. other people), especially among women. Because media consumption has become irreversibly entangled with the way social life is navigated, the present study tested gender differences in visual information processing of audiovisual news, using social and non-social memory measures. Women recognized human faces better, men non-facial images. Cued recall measures--testing the salience of visual memory--showed that women mentioned more social images than men. Yet, no gender differences were found for cued recall of non-social images. Education level and time emerged as noteworthy factors in assessing these gender differences. Understanding how the social brain is engaged in a contemporary audiovisual media environment necessitates further transdisciplinary collaboration.

Authors

• Irene Ingeborg van Driel, Indiana U

• Mariska Kleemans, Radboud University Nijmegen

• Ozen Bas, Indiana University

• Maria Elizabeth Grabe, Indiana U