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. 2016 Jan-Feb;30(1):81-91.
doi: 10.1002/acp.3170. Epub 2015 Oct 20.

Super-recognisers in Action: Evidence from Face-matching and Face Memory Tasks

Anna K Bobak  1 , Peter J B Hancock  2 , Sarah Bate  1
Affiliations

Super-recognisers in Action: Evidence from Face-matching and Face Memory Tasks

Anna K Bobak et al. Appl Cogn Psychol. 2016 Jan-Feb.

Abstract

Individuals employed in forensic or security settings are often required to compare faces of ID holders to document photographs, or to recognise the faces of suspects in closed-circuit television footage. It has long been established that both tasks produce a high error rate amongst typical perceivers. This study sought to determine the performance of individuals with exceptionally good face memory ('super-recognisers') on applied facial identity matching and memory tasks. In experiment 1, super-recognisers were significantly better than controls when matching target faces to simultaneously presented line-ups. In experiment 2, super-recognisers were also better at recognising faces from video footage. These findings suggest that super-recognisers are more accurate at face matching and face memory tasks than typical perceivers, and they could be valuable expert employees in national security and forensic settings.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
An example trial from a face‐matching array (Bruce et al., 1999; not drawn to scale). The target or probe is a video still. The images are those paired with the target by Bruce et al. (1999). The target is present in position 5
Figure 2
Figure 2
Proportion of hits (A), CRs (B) and d′ (C) on the 1‐in‐10 task in experiment 1 plotted against Cambridge Face Memory Test (CFMT) score. The dependent variable in the CFMT is the number of correct responses from a maximum score of 72. SRs, super‐recognisers
Figure 3
Figure 3
Example stimuli from study and test (not drawn to scale) in experiment 2. The target is present in the video clip on the right
Figure 4
Figure 4
Proportion of hits (A), CRs (B) and d′ (C) on the face memory task in experiment 2 plotted against Cambridge Face Memory Test (CFMT) score. The dependent variable in the CFMT is the number correct from a maximum score of 72. SRs, super‐recognisers
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