“The Butcher on the Bus” Is Less Familiar to Older Adults Than She Is to Younger Adults

ObjectivesThe “butcher on the bus” is a term describing recognizing someone as familiar but failing to recollect how we know them. Previous studies probing this phenomenon have not used paradigms that mimic real life, and age-related differences have not been adequately addressed.MethodsIn two studies, younger and older adults studied faces in scene contexts a variable number of times. In the test phases, studied faces were presented identical to the study phase, new faces were presented with new scenes, or studied faces were presented in a different context. In Study 1, this different context was the face presented with new features (pose, hairstyle, and clothing) and in a new scene. In Study 2, this different context was the same scene, but with new features. Participants made recollect, familiar, or new judgments, as well as source memory judgments for each face.ResultsIn both studies, younger adults had better recognition discrimination and recollection. The critical finding of both studies was that when faces were presented with new features, in either the same scene or a different scene, older adults did not find these faces as familiar as did younger adults.DiscussionAge-related declines in face recognition when features change may affect social interactions and everyday recognition tasks, highlighting the need for further research and supportive strategies to assist older adults in recognizing people.