Abstract
We examined relationship between individual difference in face memory and eye fixation patterns during face learning. Forty five participants reported the impression for each of 20 unknown faces. After 8 minutes delay, they performed a recognition memory task on still pictures of the faces. The participants were divided into good and poor memory groups based on the recognition memory data. Both groups made longer fixations on the internal region (eyes, nose, and mouth) than the external region (e.g., cheeks and forehead). Furthermore, the fixation time to the internal region was longer in the good memory group than the poor memory group, whereas that to the external region was longer in the poor than the good memory group. This finding suggests that the fixations on the internal region facilitate memory of the faces, and individual difference in face memory is partly attributable to the difference in eye fixation patterns on faces.
