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Demographic variation in how the social brain processes news messages

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 June 2016

Irene Ingeborg van Driel ,
Maria Elizabeth Grabe ,
Ozen Bas  and
Mariska Kleemans
Irene Ingeborg van Driel*
Affiliation:
The Media School, Indiana University
Maria Elizabeth Grabe
Affiliation:
The Media School, Indiana University
Ozen Bas
Affiliation:
The Media School, Indiana University
Mariska Kleemans
Affiliation:
Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University
*
Correspondence: Irene Ingeborg van Driel, The Media School, Indiana University, 1229 East 7th Street, Bloomington, IN 47405. Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

A high capacity for visual perception distinguishes Homo sapiens from other primates. This human ability to detect social cues and retain visual records of social networks has been tested mostly with static facial images in laboratory settings. However, media consumption has become closely entangled with the way social life is navigated. Therefore, the study reported here tested demographic differences (gender and education) in visual information processing of social and nonsocial objects featured in audiovisual news content. Women recognized (accuracy) and recalled (salience) social images better than men. On the other hand, men were more skilled at recognizing, but not recalling, nonsocial images. Participants with lower educational levels recognized and recalled fewer images than individuals with higher educational levels. Interactions between demographic variables and time suggest that memory records for social images are more stable than those for nonsocial images. Memory may have survival-relevant importance, serving navigational functions that vary across environmental demands, resulting in differences across demographic groups.

Keywords

Gendereducationfacial recognitioncued recallsocial perceptionmedia
Type
Articles
Information
Politics and the Life Sciences , Volume 35 , Issue 1 , Spring 2016 , pp. 61 - 73
Copyright
© Association for Politics and the Life Sciences 2016 

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