Matching the faces of robbers captured on video

Recent research has shown that unfamiliar face matching from both high‐ and low‐quality closed circuit television video images to photographs is highly prone to error, even when viewpoint and expression are matched as closely as possible. The current experiments made use of a filmed, staged reconstruction of a bank raid that was captured on CCTV and on high‐quality broadcasting video. Experiment 1 tested the ability of members of the public to match actors captured on CCTV to photo‐spreads containing similar‐looking distractors. Further experiments, each testing different groups of subjects, investigated matching ability using both high‐quality photographs (Experiment 2) and broadcast‐quality video material (Experiment 3). Experiment 3 also investigated the effect of disguising hairstyle, and varied whether or not the target was present in the photo line‐up. The results of these experiments confirm those of previous work, that matching the identity of unfamiliar faces is highly fallible, even when high‐quality footage is used. Experiments 4 and 5 tested matching ability using two‐alternative forced‐choice and single‐item verification tasks. Performance remained highly error‐prone even with the simplest question asked. The legal implications of the results are discussed. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The neural network model of organizational identification

This paper proposes the Neural Network Model of Organizational Identification; the model depicts organizational identification as an associative link within an organization member’s social knowledge structure of self as it relates to a focal organization. Within this knowledge structure, organization identification connects self to organization via an attribute sub-network that includes self-concept and organization identity and via a valance sub-network that includes organization based self-esteem and attitudinal commitment. This model draws on the principles of balance-congruity, imbalance dissonance, and differentiation [Greenwald, A. G., Banaji, M. R., Rudman, L. A., Farnham, S. D., Nosek, B. A., & Mellott, D. S. (2002). A unified theory of implicit attitudes, stereotypes, self-esteem, and self-concept. Psychological Review, 109, 3–25.] to predict relationships between these organizational constructs. The Neural Network Model of Organizational Identification is parsimonious yet it effectively integrates and synthesizes the burgeoning literature on organizational identification. By operating at a neural network level of analysis, the model departs substantially from existing organization models by (1) specifying unique construct definitions; (2) offering an alternative perspective of the affective/cognitive dimensions and interrelationships; (3) introducing the concept of implicit cognition to the literature on organizational identification, which makes apparent problems with current measures; and (4) explaining phenomena not explained in existing models. This perspective adds precision and reveals that organizational identification is interconnected within a reciprocal network of mutual causality.     

Reflections on the Experience of Counseling Supervision by a Team of Genetic Counselors from the UK

Despite it being generally acknowledged that counseling supervision is a vital part of the work for experienced genetic counselors and not just students, not all practising genetic counselors in the United Kingdom and Eire have access to this yet. This case study documents the supervision experience of our team of genetic counselors from Cambridge in the U.K. We document our retrospective thoughts on working practice before supervision was available in our department. We also give an overview of the individual and collective views of having one-to-one supervision only and then one year later, the impact of adding group supervision. Our ‘supervision journey’ is recorded using a practitioner-centred approach with a mixed method of data collection. Two focus group discussions and two written questionnaires were used, at different time points to gather attitudes. This paper captures experiences as our practice of supervision has evolved. This work is relevant to practising genetic counselors around the world who either do not yet have access to supervision, are planning its implementation or else are adding different types of supervision to their practice.     

The eyes or the mouth? Feature salience and unfamiliar face processing in Williams syndrome and autism

Using traditional face perception paradigms the current study explores unfamiliar face processing in two neurodevelopmental disorders. Previous research indicates that autism and Williams syndrome (WS) are both associated with atypical face processing strategies. The current research involves these groups in an exploration of feature salience for processing the eye and mouth regions of unfamiliar faces. The tasks specifically probe unfamiliar face matching by using (a) upper or lower face features, (b) the Thatcher illusion, and (c) featural and configural face modifications to the eye and mouth regions. Across tasks, individuals with WS mirror the typical pattern of performance, with greater accuracy for matching faces using the upper than using the lower features, susceptibility to the Thatcher illusion, and greater detection of eye than mouth modifications. Participants with autism show a generalized performance decrement alongside atypicalities, deficits for utilizing the eye region, and configural face cues to match unfamiliar faces. The results are discussed in terms of feature salience, structural encoding, and the phenotypes typically associated with these neurodevelopmental disorders.     

Perceptual priming is not a necessary consequence of semantic classification of pictures

Four experiments investigated how repetition priming of object recognition is affected by the task performed in the prime and test phases. In Experiment 1 object recognition was tested using both vocal naming and two different semantic decision tasks (whether or not objects were manufactured, and whether or not they would be found inside the house). Some aspects of the data were inconsistent with contemporary models of object recognition. Specifically, object priming was eliminated with some combinations of prime and test tasks, and there was no evidence of perceptual (as opposed to conceptual or response) priming in either semantic classification task, even though perceptual identification of the objects is required for at least one of these tasks. Experiment 2 showed that even when perceptual demands were increased by brief presentation, the inside task showed no perceptual priming. Experiment 3 showed that the inside task did not appear to be based on conceptual priming either, as it was not primed significantly when the prime decisions were made to object labels. Experiment 4 showed that visual sensitivity could be restored to the inside task following practice on the task, supporting the suggestion that a critical factor is whether the semantic category is preformed or must be computed. The results show that the visual representational processes revealed by object priming depend crucially on the task chosen.     

Cross-domain Repetition Priming in Person Recognition

Three experiments examining repetition priming of personal names are reported. In each experiment, faces are used as prime stimuli and people's names as the test stimuli. Experiment 1 fails to demonstrate priming from faces to names when the same task-a familiar/ unfamiliar judgement-is made in prime and test phases. Experiment 2 shows that priming is observed when the same semantic judgement (British/ American) is made in prime and test phases. Experiment 3 shows that priming is observed when different semantic judgements (dead/ alive, British/ American) are made at prime and test phase. These results suggest that transfer appropriate processing cannot provide the sole account of repetition priming in person recognition. Instead, the results are interpreted in terms of a structural account of priming, embedded within an interactive activation and competition model of person recognition.     

Impact of Interpersonal Conflict on Individuals High in Unmitigated Communion1

The current study examined the impact of interpersonal conflict on mood and physical symptoms for individuals who scored high on a personality characteristic called unmitigated communion (UC), as compared to individuals who did not score high in UC. UC is defined as a focus on others to the exclusion of the self. Forty‐one undergraduate students participated in 7 consecutive nightly interviews. Participants described their social interactions, indicated whether the interaction involved interpersonal conflict, and indicated their distress and physical symptoms at the end of the day. Multilevel modeling analysis demonstrated that conflict adversely affected UC and non‐UC individuals similarly on the same day, but had a more negative impact for UC individuals on the following day.     

Stability from variation: The case of face recognition the M.D. Vernon memorial lecture

A theme running through M.D. Vernon's discussions of visual perception was the key question of how we perceive a stable world despite continuous variation. The central problem in face identification is how we build stable representations from exemplars that vary, both rigidly and non-rigidly, from instant to instant and from encounter to encounter. Experiments reveal that people are rather poor at generalizing from one exemplar of a face to another (e.g. from one photograph to another showing a different view or expression) yet highly accurate at encoding precise details of faces within the range shown by several slightly different exemplars. Moreover, provided instructions do not encourage subjects explicitly to attend to the way that different exemplars vary, faces are retained in a way that enhances familiarity of the prototype of the set, even if this was not presented for study. It is suggested that our usual encounters with continuous variations of facial expressions, angles, and lightings provide the conditions necessary to establish stable representations of individuals within an overall category (the face) where all members share the same overall structure. These observations about face recognition would probably not have come as any great surprise to Maggie Vernon, many of whose more general observations about visual perception anticipated such conclusions.