I strive to avoid those deathly awkward moments when I’m greeted by a face I can’t put a name to, often by associating their name with something more familiar: a celebrity, a place, a song, what else? But I’m not always so lucky as to remember it in time, so I resume the conversation choosing not to think about it. Most of the time, names don’t even come up.
But why is it a topic of particular anxiety? Why have we all experienced a conversation that juts forward and falls flat like this? Why do we remember faces and yet forget names so easily?
Trust me, this information will help you out.
The Biological Answer
The brain is composed of different units, some of which are involved in the recognition of people (both familiar and unfamiliar to us).
In a theoretical model developed by Vicki Bruce and Andrew Young, it was understood that the units involved in facial recognition and name recognition are located in different areas of the brain.
The evidence to back this model up is practically what we discussed above, that universal experience of forgetting a familiar person’s name. Furthermore, Bruce and Young noted that neurological conditions such as face agnosia – which impairs facial recognition but doesn’t affect other forms of recognition – suggest that multiple units are involved in the process.
So faces and names aren’t one-on-one, because different areas in the brain are responsible for them. This model would also explain why we may even fail to recognise friends or relatives by their voice – it sometimes happens on a phone call.
Familiar and Unfamiliar Faces
Since Bruce and Young’s influential model, we have learned that alternate kinds of facial recognition are directed by different regions in the brain.
What kinds? Well, for instance, the Occipital Face Area (OFA) is responsible for identifying a face as a face. On the other hand, the Fusiform Face Area (FFA) identifies familiar faces and face-like objects. The posterior cingulate cortex, located in the prefrontal, brings together all the disparate information about someone into a cohesive image of that individual.
Identification, then, is rather a tedious, complicated, special process. Recognising someone takes more effort than pointing out a book, chair or bag. That is because objects are more general and semiotic, whereas faces are individual and holistic – meaning that we perceive a face as a whole, not as a sum of its parts.
Evidence for this neurological wonder is everywhere. Why can we identify old photos of our loved ones, despite the age gap? On the other hand, why do passport officers find the act of comparing faces with photo IDs a matter of difficulty?
Why Should I Care?
Part of what makes faces recognisable are the memories associated with them, the personality living beneath them. The better we know a person, the tighter our grip on their name is, that’s simply how it is.
But I forget a lot of things, names being the least significant. I forget words, my bag and keys, I forget to switch the car off sometimes, and sometimes I forget important dates in my calendar.
It’s easy to understand why: as we’ve discussed, faces are far more memorable than objects and words and things. It can be so, so frustrating… so what can we do about it?
I remember a particular moment in Matthew Hutson’s 7 Laws of Magical Thinking, in which Hutson recalled a girl who drew faces on her important things so as to not forget about them.
I remember how the ancient Greeks and Romans characterised human experiences and the natural world – sex, death, water, sky – as gods, who are far more memorable than words and objects.
And I remember how Hirohiko Araki cried when he had to kill off one of his fictional characters in the story.
Goddammit, WHY Should I Care??
I suppose that as we continue treading forwards in our lives, on that path towards death, we’ll find it increasingly difficult to remember things important to us. But research has shown again and again that imbuing things with personality – not just names – makes them more memorable, makes us less likely to forget them.
This doesn’t mean you have to paint faces on each bit of stationery in your pencil case. And in the digital age, some things are better left for Google Calendar to remind you about (i.e. most people’s birthdays).
If you would like a better shot at remembering things, create something that you can subconsciously associate with it. A 2018 study of dementia showed that drawing pictures of words helped one remember the word. In a similar vein, I myself make drawings or poems about words I want to use more in my writing.
What else could you do? I don’t know, write a song about the bag you keep forgetting; or make a playlist of songs, if you’re talentless like me. Put a whole lot of stickers on that bag, doodle on it, perfume it, whatever. Be creative and unconventional with your things, then forgetting your wallet will feel like losing a friend… as corny as it sounds.
