Thesis Anna Bobak

256 Pages·2016·2.05 MB·English

by  Anna Bobak

Theoretical and real-world applications of superior
face recognition

Anna Katarzyna Bobak
A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of
Bournemouth University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
July 2016
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Acknowledgements

First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr Sarah Bate, for her on-going
support and believing in me when things got tough. I would also like to extend my thanks
to Dr Ben Parris and Professor Changhong Liu for their advice throughout my studies. I
also offer my sincere appreciation to Bournemouth University for giving me this incredible
opportunity to pursue a career as a researcher. My special thanks are extended to all
participants -this project would have not been possible without their help and dedication.
My deepest gratitude goes to my Mum and Grandparents- thank you, not only for
your unconditional love and support throughout my studies, but also for bringing me up
who I am today. I love you. To my cousin Gabi- thank you for all the chats and for being
the voice of common sense when I needed it the most.
My warmest thanks go to my friend, Kinga. Thank you for the long chats, visits,
and immediate support when things were not looking up, but also for celebrating all the
achievements with me. To Magda, Mikael, and Milton, thank you for being there for me
and never stopping to believe that I have got what it takes. To my dear friends Evaggelia,
Dina, and George, thank you for your unconditional support and for making me feel like a
part of your family.
My completion of this thesis would not have been possible without the caring
friendships of those up north: Ola, Dagmara, Patryk, Ania, Clare, Ailsa, and Emma- thank
you for being there for me along the way. To Jenny, Jamie, and Helen- thank you for
keeping me sane at home and being such a positive influence in my life. I would also like
to thank Kate and Charlie for their friendship and care. Furthermore, I would like to thank
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Becky, Ruth, and Andy for their warm support and for motivating me to swim, bike, and
run in the past year.
My friends, Simon, Nabil, Abby, Michele, Jess, Lesley, Becca, Sarah, and Emmy
deserve a special mention. You made the PhD journey much more enjoyable and less
lonely. I am also extremely grateful to Martin and Jamie for their continuous support with
my project.
Last but not least, I would like to thank the late Dr Robbie Cooper for sparking my
interest in faces and for inspiring me to become a scientist. This one is for you.
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Copyright Statement

This copy of the thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is
understood to recognise that its copyright rests with its author and due acknowledgement
must always be made of the use of any material contained in, or derived from, this thesis.
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Abstract

While previous work has identified the existence of people with extraordinary face
recognition skills (so-called “super-recognisers”; SRs), the cognitive and perceptual
underpinnings of the ability are unknown. This thesis addresses this issue, using
behavioural and eye-movement measures. It also evaluates the methods used to identify
SRs, their role in more applied national security settings, and ways of improving face
recognition in typical perceivers. The first set of studies offers an in-depth cognitive and
perceptual examination of six SRs using a case-series approach. This investigation
revealed that while SRs are a heterogeneous group, they consistently show enhanced
holistic processing. A second set of studies examined the eye-movements of SRs in a
standard face memory task and a more ecologically valid free-viewing task. In both
experiments SRs spent more time looking at the nose (i.e. the centre of faces) than typical
perceivers, countering previous work that suggests the eye region is critical in facial
identification. A subsequent study was aimed at establishing the UK-specific norms for
dominant tests of face recognition and face perception, using a large sample of young
British adults. Results suggested that females are better at face recognition than males, and
that country-specific control norms are needed for these neuropsychological tests. A fourth
set of studies looked at the performance of SRs on more applied face recognition tasks,
replicating face matching and recognition scenarios. Results strongly suggested that some
SRs are best-suited to particular tasks, and when identified correctly would make
extremely valuable employees in national security settings. A final study examined if face
matching and face recognition skills can be improved in typical perceivers via intranasal
inhalation of the nonapeptide oxytocin, yet neither process was improved following this
intervention. The theoretical and practical implications resulting from all these
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investigations are discussed, particularly in relation to our understanding of the typical
face-processing system, and in making practical recommendations for the implementation
of super recognition in national security settings.
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Table of Contents

Acknowledgements ................................................................................................... ii
Copyright Statement ................................................................................................ iv
Abstract ...................................................................................................................v
List of Figures ......................................................................................................... xi
List of Tables ......................................................................................................... xii
Author’s Declaration .............................................................................................. xiv
Chapter 1: Introduction .........................................................................................1
1. THE FACE RECOGNITION SPECTRUM ...................................................................... 3
2. THE IDENTIFICATION OF SUPER RECOGNITION ................................................... 6
3. THE COGNITIVE UNDERPINNINGS OF SUPER RECOGNITION ............................ 8
4. PROCESSING STRATEGIES IN SUPER RECOGNITION ......................................... 10
5. ARE SUPER RECOGNISERS USEFUL IN APPLIED SECURITY SETTINGS? ....... 13
6. THESIS OVERVIEW AND AIMS ................................................................................. 21
Chapter 2: An in-depth cognitive examination of individuals with superior
face recognition skills ......................................................................................... 22
1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 23
2. CASE DESCRIPTIONS .................................................................................................. 27
3. STUDY 1: IS SUPER RECOGNITION FACE-SPECIFIC? .......................................... 31
3.1. Matching test ............................................................................................................. 32
3.2. Object memory .......................................................................................................... 37
3.3. Summary of Study 1 .................................................................................................. 38
4. STUDY 2: LOCATING SUPER RECOGNITION WITHIN THEORETICAL
MODELS OF FACE-PROCESSING .................................................................................. 38
4.1. Perception of facial identity ...................................................................................... 39
4.2. Perception of emotional expression .......................................................................... 41
4.3. Summary of Study 2 ................................................................................................. 43
5. STUDY 3: PROCESSING STRATEGIES IN SUPER-RECOGNITION ...................... 43
5.1. The Navon task.......................................................................................................... 44
5.2. Inversion effects ........................................................................................................ 44
5.3. The composite task .................................................................................................... 48
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5.4. Summary of Study 3 .................................................................................................. 51
6. THE COGNITIVE HETEROGENEITY OF SUPER RECOGNITION ......................... 51
7. GENERAL DISCUSSION .............................................................................................. 54
7.1. Domain-specificity of super recognition ................................................................... 54
7.2. Locating superior recognition within cognitive models of face-processing ............. 55
7.3. Processing strategies in super recognition ................................................................ 56
7.4. The cognitive heterogeneity of super recognition ..................................................... 59
7.5. Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 61
Chapter 3: Eye-movement strategies in developmental prosopagnosia and
“super” face recognition ..................................................................................... 62
1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 63
2. EXPERIMENT 1 ............................................................................................................. 66
2.1.Method ....................................................................................................................... 66
2.2. Results ....................................................................................................................... 73
2.3. Summary of Experiment 1 ........................................................................................ 79
3. EXPERIMENT 2 ............................................................................................................. 79
3.1. Method ...................................................................................................................... 80
3.2. Results ....................................................................................................................... 81
3.3. Summary of Experiment 2 ........................................................................................ 88
4. EXPERIMENT 3 ............................................................................................................. 88
4.1. Method ...................................................................................................................... 89
4.2. Results ....................................................................................................................... 90
4.3. Summary ................................................................................................................... 93
5. DISCUSSION .................................................................................................................. 93
Chapter 4: The identification of super recognition in young British adults .... 100
1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 101
2. METHOD ...................................................................................................................... 106
2.1. Participants .............................................................................................................. 106
2.2. Materials .................................................................................................................. 107
2.3. Procedure ................................................................................................................. 109
3. RESULTS ...................................................................................................................... 109
3.1. CFMT+ .................................................................................................................... 109
3.2. CFPT ....................................................................................................................... 113
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3.3. Do young adults have insight into their face recognition ability?........................... 114
4. GENERAL DISCUSSION ............................................................................................ 115
4.1. CFMT+ .................................................................................................................... 116
4.2. CFPT ....................................................................................................................... 117
4.3. Gender effects ......................................................................................................... 118
4.4. Self-report................................................................................................................ 121
4.5. Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 122
Chapter 5: Applied value of super-recognition: Evidence from line-up and
face recognition paradigms .............................................................................. 123
1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 124
2. EXPERIMENT 1 ........................................................................................................... 126
2.1. Method .................................................................................................................... 126
2.2. Results ..................................................................................................................... 131
2.3. Discussion ............................................................................................................... 136
3. EXPERIMENT 2 ........................................................................................................... 136
3.1. Method .................................................................................................................... 137
3.2. Results ..................................................................................................................... 139
3.3. Discussion ............................................................................................................... 143
4. GENERAL DISCUSSION ............................................................................................ 144
Chapter 6: Solving the border control problem: Evidence of enhanced face
matching in individuals with extraordinary face recognition skills ................. 151
1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 152
2. METHOD ...................................................................................................................... 154
3. RESULTS ...................................................................................................................... 157
Glasgow Face Matching Test ......................................................................................... 157
Models Face Matching Test ........................................................................................... 162
4. GENERAL DISCUSSION ............................................................................................ 166
Chapter 7: Improving face recognition in forensic settings: The effects of
oxytocin on face recognition and face memory tasks ...................................... 172
1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 173
2. EXPERIMENT 1 ........................................................................................................... 176
2.1. Method .................................................................................................................... 176
2.2. Results ..................................................................................................................... 179
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2.3. Summary ................................................................................................................. 181
3. EXPERIMENT 2 ........................................................................................................... 181
3.1. Method .................................................................................................................... 182
3.2. Results ..................................................................................................................... 184
3.3. Summary ................................................................................................................. 186
4. GENERAL DISCUSSION ............................................................................................ 187
Chapter 8: General Discussion ......................................................................... 193
1. THE NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL “DIAGNOSIS” OF SUPER RECOGNITION ...... 194
2. THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES ............................................................................... 200
3. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS FOR FORENSIC AND SECURITY SETTINGS ..... 204
4. SUMMARY AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS ................................................................ 211
References ........................................................................................................... 212
Appendix A ......................................................................................................... 241