Episodic Memory
Face-name Memory Task
Also called: face-name learning task, face-name paired associates, face-name-occupation memory task
Measure associative memory for faces: 12 faces studied with a first name and a job, then typed recall of each name and job and three-option choices.
8-10 minUntimed
Free to start: 10 free participants per account, then $0.99 per participant for academic research, or any yearly plan. Preview any test free after you sign up.
- Papers, 2021 to 2025
- 125
- Evidence grade
- B
- Registered clinical studies
- 51
What it measures
Measures memory for names and jobs paired with faces. Participants study 12 faces, type each name and job, then pick each face, name and job from three.
Constructs
- Associative memory
- Face-name learning
- Episodic memory
Research uses
- Associative memory research
- Memory and aging research
- Within-study comparison of face-name learning
How the paradigm works
The face-name memory task measures associative memory: how well people link a face with a name and a job. Participants study 12 faces of adults they do not know, half women and half men, one at a time for 8 seconds, each shown with a first name and a job. After 60 seconds of true-or-false arithmetic, they see each face again and type the person's first name and then their job, with no time limit. Then, for each face, they pick it out of three faces and pick its name and its job out of three: the right one, one that belonged to another face in the list, and one not shown before. Practice uses a drawn face and gives feedback; the test gives none.
More about the paradigm
The design follows Rentz et al. (2011) and the 12-face version of Papp et al. (2014), which are given in person with spoken answers, two study rounds and delays of 5 and 30 minutes. This version has one study round, typed answers and a short break, so its scores are not on the same scale. The photos come from the Face Research Lab London Set (CC BY 4.0), in color and cropped to an oval that hides hair and clothing; the two other faces in each face choice share the person's gender and ethnic group and are close in age. Names are common first names from the 1990 US Census lists, given only to faces of the matching gender, and the jobs are common one-word occupations. Each session draws its own faces, names and jobs. A typed answer counts when it is spelled right or one letter off, unless the misspelling is itself another real name or word.
The main score is the number of names and jobs recalled, out of 24. Names and jobs recalled separately, the choices of the right face, name and job, and answers that give another person's name or job are also reported. Scores support research and do not diagnose.
Scores
- Names and Jobs Recalledcount
- First names plus jobs typed correctly for the faces, out of 24 (twice the number of faces).
- Higher is better
- Names Recalledcount
- First names typed correctly, out of 12.
- Higher is better
- Jobs Recalledcount
- Jobs typed correctly, out of 12.
- Higher is better
- Percent Recalled%
- Names and jobs recalled as a percent of those asked for.
- Higher is better
- Faces Recognizedcount
- Faces picked correctly out of three faces, out of 12.
- Higher is better; chance is a third
- Names Recognizedcount
- Names picked correctly out of three names, out of 12.
- Higher is better; chance is a third
- Jobs Recognizedcount
- Jobs picked correctly out of three jobs, out of 12.
- Higher is better; chance is a third
- Swapped Answerscount
- Wrong typed answers that give the name or job of another person in the list.
- Lower is better
- Swapped Choicescount
- Name and job choices of the option that belonged to another person in the list.
- Lower is better
- Median Choice Timems
- Median time to make a choice; choices under 100 ms are left out.
- Context for accuracy
Use and evidence
125 papers from 2021 to 2025 name this task in their title or abstract, about the same as from 2016 to 2020. That ranks it 164 of 395 test families in our census. See the counts for every test.
Show the numbers
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 29 |
| 2024 | 17 |
| 2023 | 34 |
| 2022 | 20 |
| 2021 | 25 |
| 2020 | 29 |
| 2019 | 24 |
| 2018 | 25 |
| 2017 | 29 |
| 2016 | 18 |
| 2015 | 11 |
| 2014 | 16 |
| 2013 | 9 |
| 2012 | 14 |
| 2011 | 20 |
| 2010 | 9 |
| 2009 | 21 |
| 2008 | 15 |
| 2007 | 7 |
| 2006 | 11 |
| 2005 | 8 |
| 2004 | 12 |
| 2003 | 5 |
| 2002 | 5 |
| 2001 | 11 |
| 2000 | 4 |
Use grade C
100 to 299 papers from 2021 to 2025.
Evidence grade B
At least 8 test-retest papers, and either 5 registered clinical studies or 150 reliability or validity papers.
- Papers on test-retest reliability
- 12
- Papers on reliability or validity
- 47
- Registered clinical studies using it as an outcome
- 51
How the grades work
Use: A is 1,000 or more papers from 2021 to 2025, B 300 to 999, C 100 to 299, D 30 to 99 and E fewer than 30. Evidence: A means at least 25 papers report its test-retest reliability and at least 25 registered clinical studies use it as an outcome; B, at least 8 test-retest papers, and either 5 registered clinical studies or 150 reliability or validity papers; C, at least 2 test-retest papers, 30 reliability or validity papers or 3 registered clinical studies; D, little published measurement evidence found. The counts measure use. They include every paper that names the task in its title or abstract. Grades describe the published research on this task, not ConductCognition's version of it.
Source: ConductCognition test census 0.14.0, counted 31 October 2026 from OpenAlex and ClinicalTrials.gov.
Task design
The trial sequence as the test runs in ConductCognition.
- Faces
- 12 faces to study, 6 women and 6 men (standard; 6, 8, 10 or 12), from the Face Research Lab London Set: color photos cropped to an oval that hides hair and clothing. Each face has 2 recognition foils of the same gender and ethnic group, close in age.
- Names and jobs
- Each face gets a common first name for its gender (18 per gender) and a one-word job (24 in all), drawn anew for each session.
- Study
- One face at a time with its name and job below, 8 seconds each (standard; 4 to 12).
- Break
- 60 seconds (standard; 30 to 300) of true-or-false arithmetic.
- Recall
- Each face again, in a new order: the participant types the first name, then the job, with no time limit. An answer one letter off counts unless it is another real name or word.
- Choices
- For each face: the face among 3 faces, then its name among 3 names and its job among 3 jobs (the right one, one that belonged to another face and one not shown). The right option is equally often in each position, with no feedback.
- Practice
- A drawn face with a name and a job, then recall and the three choices with feedback.
The design follows Rentz et al. (2011) and the 12-face version of Papp et al. (2014), with one study round, typed answers and a short break in place of two study rounds, spoken answers and delays of 5 and 30 minutes. The photos come from the Face Research Lab London Set (CC BY 4.0); the names and jobs were written for this task. They are English; sessions run in other languages are flagged for review.
Quality checks
Each session is marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason, before you see its scores.
Scored rows: face_name_memory_recognition from the scored run, one choice among three faces, names or occupations per item (chance 1 in 3), with the typed recall answers and the break from the same run. Accuracy significantly below chance invalidates and accuracy not above chance is flagged. One position on 90% of at least 12 choices invalidates when accuracy is not above chance. Choices under 200 ms on at least half of the items invalidate. Recalling no names or occupations, no arithmetic answered during the break, or break arithmetic at or below chance over at least 10 answers is flagged for review. A session run in another language is flagged. A hidden tab withholds the percentile.
Why these rules
Accuracy significantly below chance (one-sided exact test, p < .05) cannot come from guessing; it means the response mapping was reversed or the task was not followed (Slick, Sherman and Iverson 1999 treat below-chance forced-choice performance as definite response bias). Chance-level accuracy can be a real result in impaired participants, so it is only flagged. The right option is equally often in each position. One option on at least 90% of answered trials, when the correct options are balanced and accuracy is not above chance, means the answers did not depend on the items (the task counterpart of long-string responding in surveys; Curran 2016). An answer under 200 ms is faster than a simple visual reaction, so it cannot reflect the item. Following response-time effort screening for untimed tests (Wise and Kong 2005), the session is invalid only when at least half the answers are that fast. Recalling nothing can be a real result, so it is flagged rather than invalidated, as for verbal learning. The break keeps the last faces out of short-term memory before the recall test; no arithmetic answered, or true-or-false answers at or below chance, means the break may not have been used for the arithmetic. The word lists are English. A session run in another language shows English words to a participant who may not read English fluently, so it is flagged for review. A hidden tab lets the study, delay or response timers run without the participant, so a percentile is withheld after one.
Running this test
Settings you can change
| Setting | Standard | Allowed |
|---|---|---|
| Faces | 12 faces (standard) | 6 faces, 8 faces, 10 faces, 12 faces (standard) |
| Time per face (seconds) | 8 | 4 to 12 |
| Break before the recall test (seconds) | 60 | 30 to 300 |
Yearly plans can change settings within these limits. Free and pay-as-you-go studies use the standard settings.
Need a setting this test does not have?
Devices and languages
- Untimed test: runs on desktops, laptops, tablets and phones. Participant devices
- Instructions and screens: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Chinese (Simplified) and Japanese. Words and sentences: English.
- Available on: Every plan, including the free plan.
- Recruiting online? See the setup guides for Prolific, Sona Systems, CloudResearch Connect and Qualtrics.
Cite and describe
Participants completed the Face-name Memory Task in a web browser (ConductCognition task version 1.0.0, scoring version 1.0.0; Rentz et al., 2011; Papp et al., 2014), with the standard settings (faces: 12 faces; time per face (seconds): 8; break before the recall test (seconds): 60). The main score was names and jobs recalled (first names plus jobs typed correctly for the faces, out of 24 (twice the number of faces)).
ConductCognition versions: task version 1.0.0, scoring version 1.0.0. Every export records the versions each session used, for a methods section.
- Rentz, D. M., Amariglio, R. E., Becker, J. A., Frey, M., Olson, L. E., Frishe, K., Carmasin, J., Maye, J. E., Johnson, K. A., & Sperling, R. A. (2011). Face-name associative memory performance is related to amyloid burden in normal elderly. Neuropsychologia, 49(9), 2776-2783. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2011.06.006
- Papp, K. V., Amariglio, R. E., Dekhtyar, M., Roy, K., Wigman, S., Bamfo, R., Sherman, J., Sperling, R. A., & Rentz, D. M. (2014). The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 28(5), 771-785. https://doi.org/10.1080/13854046.2014.911351
- DeBruine, L., & Jones, B. (2017). Face Research Lab London Set [Data set]. figshare. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.5047666.v5
Source papers
- Rentz DM, Amariglio RE, Becker JA, Frey M, Olson LE, Frishe K, Carmasin J, Maye JE, Johnson KA, Sperling RA (2011). Face-name associative memory performance is related to amyloid burden in normal elderly. Neuropsychologia, 49(9):2776-2783.Paradigm source, Adults
- Papp KV, Amariglio RE, Dekhtyar M, Roy K, Wigman S, Bamfo R, Sherman J, Sperling RA, Rentz DM (2014). The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 28(5):771-785.Paradigm source, Adults
- DeBruine L, Jones B (2017). Face Research Lab London Set. figshare. Dataset. doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.5047666.v5Paradigm source, Adults
Questions
How long does the Face-name Memory Task take?
About 8 to 10 minutes, as listed in the test library.
What device does a participant need?
Untimed test: runs on desktops, laptops, tablets and phones. The browser must be Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari.
What scores does it produce?
Names and Jobs Recalled, Names Recalled, Jobs Recalled, Percent Recalled, Faces Recognized, Names Recognized, Jobs Recognized, Swapped Answers, Swapped Choices and Median Choice Time. Each session is also marked valid, needs review or invalid, with the reason.
How widely is the Face-name Memory Task used in research?
125 papers from 2021 to 2025 name it in their title or abstract, about the same as from 2016 to 2020. That ranks it 164 of 395 test families in the ConductCognition test census (use grade C). Source: ConductCognition test census 0.14.0, counted 31 October 2026 from OpenAlex and ClinicalTrials.gov.
How much reliability evidence does the Face-name Memory Task have?
In the published research, 12 papers report its test-retest reliability and 51 registered clinical studies use it as an outcome (evidence grade B in the ConductCognition test census).
Which settings can a researcher change?
Faces (6 faces, 8 faces, 10 faces, 12 faces (standard)), time per face (seconds) (4 to 12) and break before the recall test (seconds) (30 to 300). Settings can be changed on yearly plans; free and pay-as-you-go studies use the standard settings.
Which languages can participants use?
The instructions and screens are in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Chinese (Simplified) and Japanese. The words and sentences stay in English, so sessions in other languages are flagged for review. English is on every plan, and the other languages come with yearly plans. Have a native speaker read the machine-translated text before launch.
Is this a clinical test?
No. ConductCognition is for research use only. It runs, scores and exports the test; clinical interpretation is outside the platform.
Every test: the full test list.
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