Recalling Semantic and Episodic Information From Faces and Voices: A Face Advantage

Recent studies have demonstrated that the retrieval of biographical information about familiar people is easier when we see their faces than when we hear their voices. This advantage of faces over voices has been observed for the retrieval of semantic information (e.g., a person's occupation) as well as for the recall of episodic information (e.g., specific memories associated with a person). In this article, we outline a recent progression of studies that have demonstrated this advantage of faces over voices by comparing the retrieval of semantic and episodic information following person recognition from faces and from voices. We show that the face advantage is a robust phenomenon that persists whatever the type of target persons (celebrities, personally familiar people, or newly learned persons).