ABSTRACT
Recognition of unknown faces was investigated using discrimination reaction times (RTs) to stimuli presented tachistoscopically in the right or left visual field. The stimuli were either named or unnamed, familiar or unfamiliar. The two factors of familiarity and naming were varied orthogonally. For male subjects, familiarity precipitated a shift in laterality from a right to a left hemisphere dominance. Naming reduced overall RT. Laterality effects were less clear-cut in females. The results are discussed in relation to current notions concerning differences in information processing modes across the cerebral hemispheres.
