Individual differences in PET activation of object perception and attention systems predict face matching accuracy

Research has systematically examined how laboratory participants and real-world practitioners decide whether two face photographs show the same person or not using frontal images. In contrast, research has not examined face matching using profile images. In Experiment 1, we ask whether matching unfamiliar faces is easier with frontal compared with profile views. Participants completed the original, frontal version of the Glasgow Face Matching Test, and also an adapted version where all face pairs were presented in profile. There was no difference in performance across the two tasks, suggesting that both views were similarly useful for face matching. Experiments 2 and 3 examined whether matching unfamiliar faces is improved when both frontal and profile views are provided. We compared face matching accuracy when both a frontal and a profile image of each face were presented, with accuracy using each view alone. Surprisingly, we found no benefit when both views were presented together in either experiment. Overall, these results suggest that either frontal or profile views provide substantially overlapping information regarding identity or participants are unable to utilise both sources of information when making decisions. Each of these conclusions has important implications for face matching research and real-world identification development.

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Effects of time pressure and time passage on face-matching accuracy

Royal Society Open Science ◽

10.1098/rsos.170249 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 4 (6) ◽

pp. 170249 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Matthew C. Fysh ◽

Markus Bindemann

Keyword(s):

Response Bias ◽

Time Pressure ◽

Matching Accuracy ◽

High Quality ◽

Face Matching ◽

The Impact

This study investigated the impact of time pressure on matching accuracy with face pairs that combined photographs from student ID cards with high-quality person portraits, and under conditions that provided infrequent identity mismatches. Time pressure was administered via two onscreen displays that observers could use to adjust the amount of time that was allocated to a given trial while completing a block of trials within a required timeframe. Under these conditions, observers matched faces under time pressure that varied from 10 to 2 s (Experiment 1) and 8 to 2 s (Experiment 2). An effect of time pressure was found in each experiment, whereby performance deteriorated under time targets of 4 s. Additionally, a match response bias emerged consistently across blocks, and indicated that separately to time pressure, performance also deteriorated due to time passage. These results therefore indicate that both time passage and pressure exert detrimental effects on face matching.

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The Effect of Feedback on Face-Matching Accuracy

Applied Cognitive Psychology ◽

10.1002/acp.2968 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 27 (6) ◽

pp. 735-753 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Hamood M. Alenezi ◽

Markus Bindemann

Keyword(s):

Matching Accuracy ◽

Face Matching

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An International Survey of Face-Matching Training

10.31234/osf.io/yxstj ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Reuben Moreton ◽

Ailsa Strathie ◽

Catriona Havard ◽

Graham Pike

Keyword(s):

Individual Differences ◽

Academic Research ◽

Large Individual ◽

International Survey ◽

Delivery Methods ◽

Face Matching ◽

The Face ◽

The Individual ◽

High Level ◽

Level Training

Face matching decisions in applied settings, such as policing, forensics and immigration services, are typically carried out by two types of professionals; facial reviewers and facial examiners. Studies have demonstrated large individual differences in the face matching accuracy of both facial reviewers and examiners. Whether variances in training between agencies could be in part responsible for these individual differences is not currently known. Despite the existence of high-level training guidelines produced by the practitioner community the content, duration and delivery of face matching training is not widely understood in the academic research community. The current study aimed to address this gap in the scientific literature and to better understand how different agencies train facial reviewers and facial examiners, using results collected from an international survey. At the group level facial examiners received longer durations of training, covering more topics and with greater inclusion of mentoring than facial reviewers. However, the survey revealed large differences in the duration, delivery methods and content of training by individual agencies at both the facial review and facial examiner level and low inclusion of evidence-based training practices. These results should help researchers to better understand the diversity in training practices and durations of training between different agencies and may help explain the individual differences observed in the performance of face matching professionals in the literature.

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Diagnostic feature training improves face matching accuracy.

Journal of Experimental Psychology Learning Memory and Cognition ◽

10.1037/xlm0000972 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Alice Towler ◽

Michelle Keshwa ◽

Bianca Ton ◽

Richard I. Kemp ◽

David White

Keyword(s):

Diagnostic Feature ◽

Matching Accuracy ◽

Face Matching

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Individual Differences Between Observers in Face Matching

10.31234/osf.io/yznxf ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Sarah Bate ◽

Natalie Mestry ◽

Emma Portch

Keyword(s):

Individual Differences ◽

Real World ◽

Face Processing ◽

Assessment Tools ◽

Current Evidence ◽

Face Matching ◽

Standard Assessment ◽

Assessment Tasks ◽

Matching Performance ◽

Current Terminology

Increasing evidence suggests vast individual differences in face matching performance in both lay perceivers and relevant professionals. However, the field is hampered by a paucity of psychometric-standard assessment tasks. This chapter reviews the current evidence supporting individual differences in face matching, in light of the reliability of the available tools. The potential underpinnings of these individual differences are reviewed, alongside the overlap between different continua of face-processing skills. Given so-called ‘super-recognisers’ may offer a powerful security tool in relevant settings, the identification and deployment of these individuals are critically discussed. In particular, the reliability and appropriateness of current terminology and assessment tools are considered, together with potential limitations in the performance of even the strongest face matchers. While the current conceptualisation of super-recognition can no doubt advance academic theory, this approach may not adequately identify the best individuals for real-world forensic face matching tasks.

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Individual differences in emotion regulation and face recognition

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0243209 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 15 (12) ◽

pp. e0243209

Author(s):

Ahmed M. Megreya ◽

Robert D. Latzman

Keyword(s):

Emotion Regulation ◽

Face Recognition ◽

Individual Differences ◽

Cognitive Reappraisal ◽

False Positives ◽

Emotion Regulation Strategies ◽

Expressive Suppression ◽

Face Memory ◽

Face Matching ◽

Regulation Strategies

Face recognition ability is highly variable among neurologically intact populations. Across three experiments, this study examined for the first time associations between individual differences in a range of adaptive versus maladaptive emotion regulation strategies and face recognition. Using an immediate face-memory paradigm, in which observers had to identify a self-paced learned unfamiliar face from a 10-face target-present/ target-absent line-up, Experiment 1 (N = 42) found high levels of expressive suppression (the ongoing efforts to inhibit emotion-expressive behaviors), but not cognitive reappraisal (the cognitive re-evaluation of emotional events to change their emotional consequences), were associated with a lower level of overall face-memory accuracy and higher rates of misidentifications and false positives. Experiment 2 (N = 53) replicated these finding using a range of face-matching tasks, where observers were asked to match pairs of same-race or different-race face images taken on the same day or during different times. Once again, high levels of expressive suppression were associated with a lower level of overall face-matching performance and higher rates of false positives, but cognitive reappraisal did not correlate with any face-matching measure. Finally, Experiment 3 (N = 52) revealed that the higher use of maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies, especially catastrophizing, was associated with lower levels of overall face-matching performances and higher rates of false positives. All told, the current research provides new evidence concerning the important associations between emotion and cognition.

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