On Thursday 27 February 2020, Josh Davis and his team of student research assistants from the University of Greenwich, - Izzy Cran, Gabriele Urbanaviciute and Ine Gismarvik attended the Training and Assessment week of the Association of Super-Recognisers
This was held at the Headquarters of the Honourable Artillery Company, at Finsbury Barracks near Old Street in London. Founded by Henry VIII in 1537, the HAC is the second oldest military corps in the world (to the Swiss Guards at the Vatican).
The super-recognisers were lucky to look round the museum and the grounds – these might be the most expensive undeveloped and protected plot of land in the world (our guide estimated a tennis ball’s section of grass was worth £20,000 – 20 years ago).
The University of Greenwich team were tasked with administering the final tests of a series of twelve in examination conditions to confirm the abilities of the attendees. Many stated they found them exhausting but challenging. The tests are designed to be based on the requirements of organisations who subcontract Super-Recognisers International staff for a number of different operations and deployments.
A description of the tests is here: -
Davis, J. P. (2019). The worldwide public impact of identifying super-recognisers for police and business. The Cognitive Psychology Bulletin, 4, Spring 2019, 17-21. (download here)
Many super-recognisers are working for different police forces in the UK and abroad (I met one from the USA and another from France). Those who reached this stage, and whose abilities were confirmed, were easily within the top 1% of the estimated population. Some produced a consistent set of scores, statistically achievable by far fewer than this.
From left to right: Gabriele, Izzy, Ine and Josh.
A description of the tests is here: - Davis, J. P. (2019). The worldwide public impact of identifying super-recognisers for police and business. The Cognitive Psychology Bulletin, 4, Spring 2019, 17-21. (download here )