The utility of multiple synthesized views in the recognition of unfamiliar faces

Jones, Scott P.; Dwyer, Dominic M.; Lewis, Michael B.

Abstract

The ability to recognize an unfamiliar individual on the basis of prior exposure to a photograph is notoriously poor and prone to errors, but recognition accuracy is improved when multiple photographs are available. In applied situations, when only limited real images are available (e.g., from a mugshot or CCTV image), the generation of new images might provide a technological prosthesis for otherwise fallible human recognition. We report two experiments examining the effects of providing computer-generated additional views of a target face. In Experiment 1, provision of computer-generated views supported better target face recognition than exposure to the target image alone and equivalent performance to that for exposure of multiple photograph views. Experiment 2 replicated the advantage of providing generated views, but also indicated an advantage for multiple viewings of the single target photograph. These results strengthen the claim that identifying a target face can be improved by providing multiple synthesized views based on a single target image. In addition, our results suggest that the degree of advantage provided by synthesized views may be affected by the quality of synthesized material.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 12, 2016
• Online Publication Date: May 1, 2017
• Publication Date: May 1, 2017
• Deposit Date: Sep 23, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 24, 2021
• Journal: Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology
• Print ISSN: 1747-0218
• Electronic ISSN: 1747-0226
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 70
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 906-918
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17470218.2016.1158302
• Keywords: Physiology (medical); General Psychology; Experimental and Cognitive Psychology; General Medicine; Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology; Physiology
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/7831282