About the Project
Black and minority ethnic (BAME) individuals are incarcerated at a higher rate than their representation in the UK population[1]. A contributing factor is the so-called cross-race effect, whereby members of other races are recognised more poorly than members of one’s own race2, and thus are more vulnerable to false identification by well-meaning eyewitnesses. The Innocence Project (innocenceproject.org) reports that over a third of wrongful convictions overturned based on DNA evidence involved a cross-race Identification error3, and so addressing this bias is crucial to avoiding miscarriages of justice. The aim of this PhD project is to explore ways of enhancing recognition accuracy for other-race faces, (by reducing false recognition and failures to recognize), as well as developing a diagnostic test of cross-race recognition ability.
Improvements in face recognition can be achieved through training4 and research shows that deeply processing faces, for example by making personality judgements rather than quick categorisations like indicating someone’s gender, leads to better face memory5. Further, motivation to process (encode) other-race faces enhances cross-race recognition6, and exposure to a variety of views of a face promotes the development of structural representations (vs. pictoral representations) in memory, which are necessary for building familiarity7. Modelling suggests the latter may improve unfamiliar face recognition8 and research indicates that diagnostic tests of face recognition ability9 can predict identification accuracy10. The successful student will explore which types of judgements are most useful for enhancing cross-race encoding and therefore recognition as well as whether incorporation of these judgements with varied images improves the development of familiarity and expertise with cross-race faces.
Ultimately, the successful student will use the knowledge gained from conducted experiments and psychometric methods to develop 1) an easy-to-use cross-race recognition training tool (for police, passport officers, etc.) and 2) a diagnostic test of cross-race recognition ability for assessing eyewitness reliability. These evidence-based technologies will promote social justice and equality for BAME individuals by reducing the likelihood of cross-race misidentification and wrongful conviction.
How to apply
Please visit our website to find information on how to apply.
Send enquiries to: Dr Jamal K. Mansour ([Email Address Removed])
References
https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-prison-population-statistics-2019-20/pages/4/
https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ods-analyser/jsf/tableView/tableView.xhtml
2 Meissner, C. A., & Brigham, J. C. (2001). Thirty years of investigating the own-race bias in memory for faces: A meta-analytic review. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 7(1), 3 –35. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-8971.7.1.3
3 Dwyer, J., Neufeld, P., & Scheck, B. (2001). Actual innocence: When justice goes wrong and how to make it right. New York: Berkley.
4 Balsdon, T., Summersby, S., Kemp, R. I. & White, D. (2018). Improving face identification with specialist teams. Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, 3(25). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41235-018-0114-7
Towler, A., Kemp, R. I., Burton, A. M., Dunn, J. D., Wayne, T., Moreton, R., & White, D. (2019). Do professional facial image comparison training courses work?. PloS ONE, 14(2), e0211037. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0211037
5 Bower, G. H., & Karlin, M. B. (1974). Depth of processing pictures of faces and recognition memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 103(4), 751–757. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0037190
6 Baldwin, M., Keefer, L. A., Gravelin, C. R., & Biernat, M. (2013). Perceived importance of cross-race targets facilitates recall: Support for a motivated account of face memory. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 16(4), 505-515. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430212460893
7 Andrews, S., Jenkins, R., Cursiter, H., & Burton, A. M. (2015). Telling faces together: Learning new faces through exposure to multiple instances. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 68(10), 2041-2050. https://doi.org/10.1080/17470218.2014.1003949
8 Kramer, R. S., Young, A. W., & Burton, A. M. (2018). Understanding face familiarity. Cognition, 172, 46-58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2017.12.005
9 Burton, A. M., White, D., & McNeill, A. (2010). The Glasgow face matching test. Behavior Research Methods, 42(1), 286-291. https://doi.org/10.3758/BRM.42.1.286
0 Noyes, E., Hill, M. Q., & O’Toole, A. J. (2018). Face recognition ability does not predict person identification performance: Using individual data in the interpretation of group results. Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, 3(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41235-018-0117-4
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