School of Human Sciences
Institute of Lifecourse Development
University of Greenwich
London SE10 9LS
www.superrecognisers.com
super-recognisers@greenwich.ac.uk
Twitter: @GRecognisers
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0017-7159
https://www.gre.ac.uk/pg/eduhea/psych
UNSW Face Test: A screening tool for super-recognizers
James D. Dunn (University of New South Wales)
Stephanie Summersby (University of New South Wales)
Alice Towler (University of New South Wales)
Josh P. Davis (University of Greenwich)
David White (University of New South Wales)
Thanks to the 836 participants from the University of Greenwich database who contributed to our collaborative project creating a new super-recogniser test with Australian collaborators from the University of New South Wales. Participants will have contributed to this project from 7 March 2018, and 1 August 2019. We will have asked you for consent to use your Cambridge Face Memory Test: Extended (Russell, Duchaine, & Nakayama, 2009) and Glasgow Face Matching Test (Burton, White, & O’Neill, 2010) data to compare with the UNSW test.
A journal article describing the research is free to access here
Dunn, J., Summersby, S., Towler, A., Davis, J. P., & White, D. (2020). UNSW Face Test: A screening tool for super-recognizers. PLoS ONE 15(11), e0241747. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0241747
Abstract
We present a new test–the UNSW Face Test (www.unswfacetest.com), that has been specifically designed to screen for super-recognizers in large online cohorts and is available free for scientific use. Super-recognizers are people that demonstrate sustained performance in the very top percentiles in tests of face identification ability. Because they represent a small proportion of the population, screening large online cohorts is an important step in their initial recruitment, before confirmatory testing via standardized measures and more detailed cognitive testing. We provide normative data on the UNSW Face Test from 3 cohorts tested via the internet (combined n = 23,902) and 2 cohorts tested in our lab (combined n = 182). The UNSW Face Test: (i) captures both identification memory and perceptual matching, as confirmed by correlations with existing tests of these abilities; (ii) captures face-specific perceptual and memorial abilities, as confirmed by non-significant correlations with non-face object processing tasks; (iii) enables researchers to apply stricter selection criteria than other available tests, which boosts the average accuracy of the individuals selected in subsequent testing. Together, these properties make the test uniquely suited to screening for super-recognizers in large online cohorts.
References
Burton, A. M., White, D., & McNeill, A. (2010) The Glasgow face matching test. Behavioral Research Methods, 42, 286-291.
Russell, R., Duchaine, B., Nakayama, D. (2009). Super-recognizers: People with extraordinary face recognition ability. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 16(2), 252-257.
