Carry-over effects in face recognition: Processing mode or attentional window?

This study investigates whether or not the dominant processing mode (global or local) in a Navon task is carried over to a face recognition task when the dominant processing mode (configural or featural) in an encoding phase is manipulated. In Experiment 1, Navon figures that were equal in size to a facial photograph were prepared. Participants performed better on the face recognition task after reading large letters in the Navon figures than after reading small letters when configural processing was required in the encoding phase. In Experiment 2, Navon figures that were equal in size to the parts of a face were prepared. The performance after reading large letters did not differ from that after reading small letters. This suggests that both the dominant processing mode in Navon tasks and the size of Navon figures should be considered when discussing the effects of Navon tasks in face recognition.