Exploring New Strategies for Facial Recall

Abstract

Marked discrepancies exist between levels of face recognition and accuracy of face recall registered by Photofit. One of the reasons for this may be that Photofit demands that subjects initially identify features in isolation and such a strategy is incompatible with normal coding processes. Experiment 1 compared the normal feature-based approach to face building with a condition which permitted subjects to work from an established face (‘Mr Average’). No superiority for the latter condition could be established. Experiment 2 contrasted the standard building method with one in which subjects were offered a variety of facial types as potential starting points. Again, accuracy was no higher under the novel procedure. It was concluded that there were no grounds advocating for a wholesale change in current tactics of Photofit building which emphasize feature-selection prior to amending a total facial composite.