Age of acquisition in face categorisation: is there an instance-based account?

An instance-based model of the effects of age of acquisition (AoA) is offered and derived predictions are considered. A face-categorisation experiment is reported which tested these predictions. Nine participants made speeded-categorisation judgements of 185 faces from two TV shows. Ratings were given for the faces' frequency of occurrence in the shows and, for each face, the length of time the character was in the show and the time since they had left was found. Regression analyses were used to find how the factors affected the speed of categorisation. Speed of categorisation was found to follow a negative power function of the frequency and time on the show and a positive power function of the time since they had left. This was supportive of the instance-based account and suggests that effects of AoA with words and objects can be explained in terms of cumulative frequency.