When two fields collide: Identifying “super-recognisers” for neuropsychological and forensic face recognition research

Bate, Sarah; Portch, Emma; Mestry, Natalie

doi:10.1177/17470218211027695

Cited by 9 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 83 publications

(173 reference statements)

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“…Davis and colleagues have also reported using multiple tests, however, applying different tests across studies, including tests lacking scientifically published procedures and normative data. Departing from their original single/same test approach (see above), Bate et al (2021) recommended the use of at least two established tasks for SR screening, however, focusing on memory. The first formal SR diagnostic framework proposed by Ramon (2021) involves three established tests, which collectively assess face perception and face memory.…”

Section: Box 1 Super-recognizer Diagnostics: Lack Of Consensus Experi...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Large-Scale Super-Recognizer Identification in the Berlin Police

Ramon,

Vowels

2023

Preprint

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International law enforcement agencies are tasked with processing increasing amounts of security-relevant digital information, particularly images and videos showing physical persons' facial identity. The permissible use of technology is subject to certain legal conditions, which vary across legal systems. But even if automatic assistance is permissible, technology is neither ubiquitous nor infallible. Therefore, police agencies across the world require novel solutions enabling both efficient and accurate processing of individuals' facial identity. Over the past years, so-called Super-Recognizers (SRs), humans with an apparently innate superiority for processing facial identity, have received increasing interest from law enforcement. For good reason: they can be found among law enforcement professionals already tasked with safeguarding the public. Contrary to the surging media interest in this topic, little attention has been directed toward scrutinizing the methods that are used to identify these highly anticipated "super-heroes". This is problematic as available tests are developed in the lab by researchers, and cannot be expected to represent the variety of real-life tasks, which SRs' could be expected to perform. We report data obtained from within the entire body of 18K officers of the Berlin Police, who were invited to participate in an applied research study in April 2021. With this unique cohort, we report the first-ever validation of lab-based procedures for SR identification, using the only existing police tool involving authentic police material: the Berlin Test for Super-Recognizer Identification (beSure®). The results demonstrate that as a group SRs identified via lab procedures are more proficient in real-life, professionally relevant processing of facial identity. However, at the individual level lab procedures can be insufficiently sensitive toward identifying professionals with exceptional ability. Consequently, law enforcement is well advised to consider two main aspects. First, to use (existing) bespoke methods, such as beSure®, which were developed specifically by and for police agencies for SR identification. Second, to systematically document professional SR identification and deployment. This is not only crucial for the evaluation of SR deployment. It is a prerequisite for the development of a needed human-centered, technology-assisted approach to facial identity processing in law enforcement.

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Section: Box 1 Super-recognizer Diagnostics: Lack Of Consensus Experi...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Large-Scale Super-Recognizer Identification in the Berlin Police

Ramon,

Vowels

2023

Preprint

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“…Several published tests are designed to measure face identity processing ability across the ability spectrum (see [ 8 ] for a recent review, see also [ 9 ]). The most widely used is the Cambridge Face Memory Test which measures the ability to learn and remember unfamiliar faces [ 10 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To do this, we first used online tests to identify individuals who met specific performance criteria on three standardised tests of unfamiliar face memory and face matching ability. Because there is no universally agreed criterion for selecting super-recognisers (see [ 9 ], c.f. [ 31 ]) we applied two alternative selection criteria and assessed the impact of these criteria on group performance in follow-up tests in our research lab.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Selecting police super-recognisers

et al. 2023

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People vary in their ability to recognise faces. These individual differences are consistent over time, heritable and associated with brain anatomy. This implies that face identity processing can be improved in applied settings by selecting high performers–‘super-recognisers’ (SRs)–but these selection processes are rarely available for scientific scrutiny. Here we report an ‘end-to-end’ selection process used to establish an SR ‘unit’ in a large police force. Australian police officers (n = 1600) completed 3 standardised face identification tests and we recruited 38 SRs from this cohort to complete 10 follow-up tests. As a group, SRs were 20% better than controls in lab-based tests of face memory and matching, and equalled or surpassed accuracy of forensic specialists that currently perform face identification tasks for police. Individually, SR accuracy was variable but this problem was mitigated by adopting strict selection criteria. SRs’ superior abilities transferred only partially to body identity decisions where the face was not visible, and they were no better than controls at deciding which visual scene that faces had initially been encountered in. Notwithstanding these important qualifications, we conclude that super-recognisers are an effective solution to improving face identity processing in applied settings.

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The super‐recogniser advantage extends to the detection of hyper‐realistic face masks

Robertson,

Davis,

Sanders

et al. 2024

Applied Cognitive Psychology

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Hyper‐realistic silicone masks provide a viable route to identity fraud. Over the last decade, more than 40 known criminal acts have been committed by perpetrators using this type of disguise. With the increasing availability and bespoke sophistication of these masks, research must now focus on ways to enhance their detection. In this study, we investigate whether super‐recognisers (SRs), people who excel at identity recognition, are more likely to detect this type of fraud, in comparison to typical‐recogniser controls. Across three tasks, we examined mask detection rates in the absence of a pre‐task prompt (covert task), and again after making participants aware of their use in criminal settings (explicit task). Finally, participants were asked to indicate which aspects of the masks could support their detection (regions of interest task). The findings show an SR advantage for the detection of hyper‐realistic masks across the covert and explicit mask detection tasks. In addition, the eye, mouth, and nose regions appear to be particularly indicative of the presence of a mask. The lack of natural skin texture, proportional features, expressiveness, and asymmetry are also salient cues. The theoretical and applied implications of these findings are discussed.

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When two fields collide: Identifying “super-recognisers” for neuropsychological and forensic face recognition research

Cited by 9 publications

References 83 publications

Large-Scale Super-Recognizer Identification in the Berlin Police

Large-Scale Super-Recognizer Identification in the Berlin Police

Selecting police super-recognisers

The super‐recogniser advantage extends to the detection of hyper‐realistic face masks

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