Individuals who are 'super recognisers' show superior performance on independent measures of face perception, face memory, and face matching.

Abstract

Individuals who are superior at face recognition are described as 'super recognisers' (SRs). On standard face recognition tasks SRs outperform individuals who have typical face recognition ability. However, high accuracy on face recognition tasks may be driven by superior ability in one or more of several component processes including face perception, face matching, and face memory. The present study utilised the Oxford Face Matching Test (OFMT) and a novel analysis strategy to derive independent measures of face perception, face matching, and face memory. Thirty-two SRs and the same number of matched controls with typical face recognition ability undertook three face processing tasks: the OFMT, the Glasgow Face Matching Test, and the Cambridge Face Memory Test. At the group level, SRs were more accurate than controls across all tasks, and they reported greater face recognition ability. Of most importance, however, was the finding that SRs exhibited superior face perception, face matching, and face memory. Collectively, these results suggest that SRs have superior ability across multiple independent face-related processes.