Dowsett, Andrew J. and Burton, A. Mike orcid.org/0000-0002-2035-2084 (2015) Unfamiliar face matching:Pairs out-perform individuals and provide a route to training. British journal of psychology. pp. 433-445. ISSN 0007-1269
Abstract
Matching unfamiliar faces is known to be difficult. Here, we ask whether performance can be improved by asking viewers to work in pairs, a manipulation known to increase accuracy for low-level visual discrimination tasks. Across four experiments we consistently find that face matching accuracy is higher for pairs of viewers than for individuals. This ‘pairs advantage’ is generally driven by adopting the response of the higher scoring partner. However, when the task becomes difficult, both partners’ performance is improved by working in a pair. In two experiments, we find evidence that working in a pair can lead to subsequent improvements in individual performance, specifically for viewers whose accuracy is initially low. The pairs’ technique therefore offers the opportunity for substantial improvements in face matching performance, along with an added training benefit.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | (c) 2014 The British Psychological Society. This is an author produced version of a paper published in British Journal of Psychology. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Sciences (York) > Psychology (York) |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 12 Oct 2015 12:18 |
Last Modified: | 25 Mar 2025 00:06 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12103 |
Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/bjop.12103 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:85532 |