scholarly journals Individual Differences Between Observers in Face Matching

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.

scholarly journals Individual Differences Between Observers in Face Matching

2021 ◽  
pp. 115-143
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 that so-called super-recognizers 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 conceptualization 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.

scholarly journals Microsaccades in applied environments: Real-world applications of fixational eye movement measurements

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert G Alexander ◽  
Stephen L Macknik ◽  
Susana Martinez-Conde
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Eye Movement ◽  
Athletic Training ◽  
Real World ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Sensory Deprivation ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Fixational Eye Movements ◽  
Real World Applications

Across a wide variety of research environments, the recording of microsaccades and other fixational eye movements has provided insight and solutions into practical problems. Here we review the literature on fixational eye movements—especially microsaccades—in applied and ecologically-valid scenarios. Recent technical advances allow noninvasive fixational eye movement recordings in real-world contexts, while observers perform a variety of tasks. Thus, fixational eye movement measures have been obtained in a host of real-world scenarios, such as in connection with driver fatigue, vestibular sensory deprivation in astronauts, and elite athletic training, among others. Here we present the state of the art in the practical applications of fixational eye movement research, examine its potential future uses, and discuss the benefits of including microsaccade measures in existing eye movement detection technologies. Current evidence supports the inclusion of fixational eye movement measures in real-world contexts, as part of the development of new or improved oculomotor assessment tools. The real-world applications of fixational eye movement measurements will only grow larger and wider as affordable high-speed and high-spatial resolution eye trackers become increasingly prevalent.

scholarly journals The Oxford Face Matching Test: A Non-Biased Test of The Full Range of Individual Differences in Face Perception

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirta Stantic ◽  
Rebecca Brewer ◽  
Brad Duchaine ◽  
Michael J. Banissy ◽  
Sarah Bate ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Face Perception ◽  
Face Processing ◽  
Item Difficulty ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Face Memory ◽  
Face Matching ◽  
Matching Test ◽  
Processing Abilities

Tests of face processing are typically designed to identify individuals performing outside of the typical range; either prosopagnosic individuals who exhibit poor face processing ability, or super recognisers, who have superior face processing abilities. Here we describe the development of the Oxford Face Matching Test (OFMT), designed to identify individual differences in face processing across the full range of performance, from prosopagnosia, through the range of typical performance, to super recognisers. Such a test requires items of varying difficulty, but establishing difficulty is problematic when particular populations (e.g. prosopagnosics, individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder) may use atypical strategies to process faces. If item difficulty is calibrated on neurotypical individuals, then the test may be poorly calibrated for atypical groups, and vice versa. To obtain items of varying difficulty we used facial recognition algorithms to obtain face pair similarity ratings that are not biased towards specific populations. These face pairs were used as stimuli in the OFMT, and participants required to judge if the face images depicted the same individual or different individuals. Across five studies the OFMT was shown to be sensitive to individual differences in the typical population, and in groups of both prosopagnosic individuals and super recognisers. The test-retest reliability of the task was at least equivalent to the Cambridge Face Memory Test and the Glasgow Face Matching Test. Furthermore, results reveal, at least at the group level, that both face perception and face memory are poor in those with prosopagnosia, and good in super recognisers.

scholarly journals Face processing in police service: the relationship between laboratory-based assessment of face processing abilities and performance in a real-world identity matching task

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus M. Thielgen ◽  
Stefan Schade ◽  
Carolin Bosé
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Real World ◽  
Face Processing ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Matching Task ◽  
False Alarms ◽  
Service Experience ◽  
Processing Abilities

AbstractIn the present study, we investigated whether police officers’ performance in searching for unfamiliar faces in a video-based real-world task is predicted by laboratory-based face processing tests that are typically used to assess individual differences in face processing abilities. Specifically, perceptual performance in the field was operationalized via the identification of target individuals in self-made close-circuit television (CCTV) video tapes. Police officers’ abilities in the laboratory were measured by the Cambridge Face Memory Test long form (CFMT+). We hypothesized that the CFMT+ predicts individual differences in the CCTV task performance. A total of N = 186 police officers of the Rhineland-Palatinate State Police participated in the study (i.e., N = 139 novice and advanced cadets with either 3 months, 15 months or 24 months of pre-service experience; N = 47 experienced police officers with three years of pre-service experience and at least two years of full-service experience, who participated in the assessment center of the special police forces, specifically the surveillance and technical unit). Results revealed that the CFMT+ explained variance in the CCTV task. In sample 1, CFMT+ scores predicted hits, but not false alarms. In contrast, in sample 2, CFMT+ scores were correlated with both hits and false alarms. From a theoretical perspective, we discuss factors that might explain CCTV task performance. From a practical perspective, we recommend that personnel selection processes investigating individual differences of police officers’ face processing abilities should comprise of two steps. At first, laboratory-based tests of face processing abilities should be applied. Subsequently, to validate laboratory-based individual differences in face processing abilities, we recommend that work samples such as CCTV tasks from the field should be added.

EXPRESS: Distinct abilities associated with matching same identity faces vs. discriminating different faces: Evidence from individual differences in prosopagnosics and controls

2022 ◽  
pp. 174702182210768
Author(s):  
Amy Berger ◽  
Regan Fry ◽  
Anna Bobak ◽  
Angela Juliano ◽  
Joseph DeGutis
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Holistic Processing ◽  
Small Study ◽  
Entire Group ◽  
Face Images ◽  
Face Matching ◽  
Processing Ability ◽  
Processing Abilities ◽  
Matching Performance ◽  
Featural Processing

Previous face matching studies provide evidence that matching same identity faces (match trials) and discriminating different face identities (non-match trials) rely on distinct processes. For example, instructional studies geared towards improving face matching in applied settings have often found selective improvements in match or non-match trials only. Additionally, a small study found that developmental prosopagnosics (DPs) have specific deficits in making match but not non-match judgments. In the current study, we sought to replicate this finding in DPs and examine how individual differences across DPs and controls in match vs. non-match performance relate to featural vs. holistic processing abilities. 43 DPs and 27 controls matched face images shown from similar front views or with varied lighting or viewpoint. Participants also performed tasks measuring featural (eyes/mouth) and holistic processing (part-whole task). We found that DPs showed worse overall matching performance than controls and that their relative match vs. non-match deficit depended on image variation condition, indicating that DPs do not consistently show match- or non-match-specific deficits. When examining the association between holistic and featural processing abilities and match vs. non-match trials in the entire group of DPs and controls, we found a very clear dissociation: Match trials significantly correlated with eye processing ability (r=.48) but not holistic processing (r=.11), whereas non-match trials significantly correlated with holistic processing (r=.32) but not eye processing (r=.03). This suggests that matching same identity faces relies more on eye processing while discriminating different faces relies more on holistic processing.

scholarly journals The Oxford Face Matching Test: A non-biased test of the full range of individual differences in face perception

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirta Stantic ◽  
Rebecca Brewer ◽  
Bradley Duchaine ◽  
Michael J. Banissy ◽  
Sarah Bate ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Face Perception ◽  
Face Processing ◽  
Item Difficulty ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Face Memory ◽  
Face Matching ◽  
Matching Test ◽  
Processing Abilities

AbstractTests of face processing are typically designed to identify individuals performing outside of the typical range; either prosopagnosic individuals who exhibit poor face processing ability, or super recognisers, who have superior face processing abilities. Here we describe the development of the Oxford Face Matching Test (OFMT), designed to identify individual differences in face processing across the full range of performance, from prosopagnosia, through the range of typical performance, to super recognisers. Such a test requires items of varying difficulty, but establishing difficulty is problematic when particular populations (e.g., prosopagnosics, individuals with autism spectrum disorder) may use atypical strategies to process faces. If item difficulty is calibrated on neurotypical individuals, then the test may be poorly calibrated for atypical groups, and vice versa. To obtain items of varying difficulty, we used facial recognition algorithms to obtain face pair similarity ratings that are not biased towards specific populations. These face pairs were used as stimuli in the OFMT, and participants were required to judge whether the face images depicted the same individual or different individuals. Across five studies the OFMT was shown to be sensitive to individual differences in the typical population, and in groups of both prosopagnosic individuals and super recognisers. The test-retest reliability of the task was at least equivalent to the Cambridge Face Memory Test and the Glasgow Face Matching Test. Furthermore, results reveal, at least at the group level, that both face perception and face memory are poor in those with prosopagnosia, and are good in super recognisers.

Exploring Levels of Face Familiarity by Using an Indirect Face-Matching Measure

Perception ◽  
10.1068/p3335 ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 31 (8) ◽  
pp. 985-994 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Clutterbuck ◽  
Robert A Johnston
Keyword(s):  
Face Processing ◽  
Matching Task ◽  
Indirect Measure ◽  
Face Matching ◽  
External Feature ◽  
Unfamiliar Face ◽  
Matching Performance ◽  
Unfamiliar Faces

An experiment is reported in which participants matched complete images of unfamiliar, moderately familiar, and highly familiar faces with simultaneously presented images of internal and external features. Participants had to decide if the two images depicted same or different individuals. Matches to internal features were made faster to highly familiar faces than both to moderately familiar and to unfamiliar faces, and matches to moderately familiar faces were made faster than to unfamiliar faces. For external feature matches, this advantage was only found for “different” decision matches to highly familiar faces compared to unfamiliar faces. The results indicate that the differences in familiar and unfamiliar face processing are not the result of all-or-none effects, but seem to have a graded impact on matching performance. These findings extend the earlier work of Young et al (1985 Perception14 737–746), and we discuss the possibility of using the matching task as an indirect measure of face familiarity.

Mandatory First Impressions: Happy Expressions Increase Trustworthiness Ratings of Subsequent Neutral Images

Perception ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-115
Author(s):  
S. M. Thierry ◽  
A. C. Twele ◽  
C. J. Mondloch
Keyword(s):  
Multilevel Modeling ◽  
Facial Expressions ◽  
Real World ◽  
Face Processing ◽  
First Impressions ◽  
Automatic Process ◽  
Behavioral Consequences

First impressions of traits are formed rapidly and nonconsciously, suggesting an automatic process. We examined whether first impressions of trustworthiness are mandatory, another component of automaticity in face processing. In Experiment 1a, participants rated faces displaying subtle happy, subtle angry, and neutral expressions on trustworthiness. Happy faces were rated as more trustworthy than neutral faces; angry faces were rated as less trustworthy. In Experiment 1b, participants learned eight identities, half showing subtle happy and half showing subtle angry expressions. They then rated neutral images of these same identities (plus four novel neutral faces) on trustworthiness. Multilevel modeling analyses showed that identities previously shown with subtle expressions of happiness were rated as more trustworthy than novel identities. There was no effect of previously seen subtle angry expressions on ratings of trustworthiness. Mandatory first impressions based on subtle facial expressions were also reflected in two ratings designed to assess real-world outcomes. Participants indicated that they were more likely to vote for identities that had posed happy expressions and more likely to loan them money. These findings demonstrate that first impressions of trustworthiness based on previously seen subtle happy, but not angry, expressions are mandatory and are likely to have behavioral consequences.

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