Performance of Typical and Superior Face Recognisers on a Novel Interactive Face Matching Procedure

Unfamiliar simultaneous face matching is error prone. Reducing incorrect identification decisions will positively benefit forensic and security contexts. The absence of view-independent information in static images likely contributes to the difficulty of unfamiliar face matching. We tested whether a novel interactive viewing procedure that provides the user with 3D structural information as they rotate a facial image to different orientations would improve face matching accuracy. We tested the performance of ‘typical’ (Experiment 1) and ‘superior’ (Experiment 2) face recognisers, comparing their performance using high quality (Experiment 3) and pixelated (Experiment 4) Facebook profile images. In each trial, participants responded whether two images featured the same person with one of these images being either a static face, a video providing orientation information, or an interactive image. Taken together, the results show that fluid orientation information and interactivity prompt shifts in criterion and support matching performance. Because typical and superior face recognisers both benefited from the structural information provided by the novel viewing procedures, our results point to qualitatively similar reliance on pictorial encoding in these groups. This also suggests that interactive viewing tools can be valuable in assisting face matching in high performing practitioner groups.

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GFMT2: A psychometric measure of face matching ability

10.31234/osf.io/a3fh4 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

David White ◽

Daniel Guilbert ◽

Victor Perrone de Lima Varela ◽

Rob Jenkins ◽

Mike Burton

Keyword(s):

Short Form ◽

High Performing ◽

Training Interventions ◽

Test Items ◽

Face Matching ◽

Matching Test ◽

Unfamiliar Face Matching ◽

Unfamiliar Face ◽

Short Versions ◽

Equal Difficulty

We present an expanded version of a widely used measure of unfamiliar face matching ability, the Glasgow Face Matching Test (GFMT). The GFMT2 is created using the same source database as the original test but makes five key improvements. First, the test items include variation in head angle, pose, expression and subject-to-camera distance, making the new test more difficult and more representative of challenges in everyday face identification tasks. Second, short and long versions of the test each contain two forms that are calibrated to be of equal difficulty, allowing repeat tests to be performed to examine effects of training interventions. Third, the short form tests contain no repeating face identities, thereby removing any confounding effects of familiarity that may have been present in the original test. Fourth, separate short versions are created to target exceptionally high performing or exceptionally low performing individuals using established psychometric principles. Fifth, all tests are implemented in an executable program, allowing them to be administered automatically. All tests are available free for scientific use via www.gfmt2.org.

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Supplemental Material for The Effect of the Proportion of Mismatching Trials and Task Orientation on the Confidence–Accuracy Relationship in Unfamiliar Face Matching

Journal of Experimental Psychology Applied ◽

10.1037/xap0000130.supp ◽

2017 ◽

Keyword(s):

Task Orientation ◽

Face Matching ◽

Unfamiliar Face Matching ◽

Unfamiliar Face ◽

Accuracy Relationship ◽

And Task

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A grey area: How does image hue affect unfamiliar face matching?

10.31234/osf.io/7g9r8 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Anna K Bobak ◽

Viktoria Roumenova Mileva ◽

Peter Hancock

Keyword(s):

Matching Task ◽

Mixed Condition ◽

Face Matching ◽

Matching Test ◽

Unfamiliar Face Matching ◽

Unfamiliar Face ◽

Matching Performance ◽

Small Decline ◽

Clear Shift

The role of image colour in face identification has received little attention in research despite the importance of identifying people from photographs in identity documents (IDs). Here, in two experiments, we investigated whether colour congruency of two photographs shown side by side affects face matching accuracy. Participants were presented with two images from the Models Face Matching Test (Experiment 1) and a newly devised matching task incorporating female faces (Experiment 2) and asked to decide whether they show the same person, or two different people. The photographs were either both in colour, both in grayscale, or mixed (one in grayscale and one in colour). Participants were more likely to accept a pair of images as a “match”, i.e. same person, in the mixed condition, regardless of whether the identity of the pair was the same or not. This demonstrates a clear shift in bias between “congruent” colour conditions and the mixed trials. In addition, there was a small decline in accuracy in the mixed condition, relative to when the images were presented in colour. Our study provides the first evidence that the hue of document photographs matters for face matching performance. This finding has important implications for the design and regulation of photographic ID worldwide.

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Improving Unfamiliar Face Matching Using Multiple Images and Feedback

i-Perception ◽

10.1068/ii38 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 5 (5) ◽

pp. 469-469

Author(s):

A.J Dowsett ◽

A.M Burton

Keyword(s):

Multiple Images ◽

Face Matching ◽

Unfamiliar Face Matching ◽

Unfamiliar Face

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Unfamiliar Face Matching With Driving Licence and Passport Photographs

Perception ◽

10.1177/0301006619826495 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 48 (2) ◽

pp. 175-184 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Robin S. S. Kramer ◽

Sophie Mohamed ◽

Sarah C. Hardy

Keyword(s):

High Resolution ◽

Ecological Validity ◽

Current Work ◽

Sorting Task ◽

Matching Task ◽

Performance Levels ◽

Driving Licence ◽

Face Matching ◽

Unfamiliar Face Matching ◽

Unfamiliar Face

Matching two different images of an unfamiliar face is difficult, although we rely on this process every day when proving our identity. Although previous work with laboratory photosets has shown that performance is error-prone, few studies have focussed on how accurately people carry out this matching task using photographs taken from official forms of identification. In Experiment 1, participants matched high-resolution, colour face photos with current UK driving licence photos of the same group of people in a sorting task. Averaging 19 mistaken pairings out of 30, our results showed that this task was both difficult and error-prone. In Experiment 2, high-resolution photographs were paired with either driving licence or passport photographs in a typical pairwise matching paradigm. We found no difference in performance levels for the two types of ID image, with both producing unacceptable levels of accuracy (around 75%–79% correct). The current work benefits from increased ecological validity and provides a clear demonstration that these forms of official identification are ineffective and alternatives should be considered.

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Unfamiliar Face Matching With Frontal and Profile Views

Perception ◽

10.1177/0301006618756809 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 47 (4) ◽

pp. 414-431 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Robin S. S. Kramer ◽

Michael G. Reynolds

Keyword(s):

Real World ◽

Sources Of Information ◽

Matching Accuracy ◽

Face Matching ◽

Matching Test ◽

Unfamiliar Face Matching ◽

Unfamiliar Face ◽

Unfamiliar Faces

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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Understanding professional expertise in unfamiliar face matching

10.31234/osf.io/z2ugp ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

David White ◽

Alice Towler ◽

Richard Kemp

Keyword(s):

Future Research ◽

Identity Verification ◽

Daily Work ◽

The Public ◽

Face Matching ◽

The People ◽

Unfamiliar Face Matching ◽

Unfamiliar Face ◽

Specialist Groups ◽

Modern Identity

Deciding whether or not two images are of the same unfamiliar face is an important task in many professions. These decisions are a critical part of modern identity verification processes with direct – and often profound – consequences for individual rights and the security of society. As a result, the public expect the people entrusted with these decisions to perform accurately. But do they? Here we review 29 published tests comparing face matching accuracy in professional and novice groups. Twelve of these tests show no significant differences between professional and novice groups, suggesting that merely performing the task in daily work is not sufficient to improve accuracy. However, specialist groups of Facial Examiners and Police Super- recognisers consistently outperform novices. Staff selection, mentorship, deliberate practice, motivation, feedback and training may all contribute to enhancing the performance of individuals working in these groups and future research is necessary to delineate their relative contributions.

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