Memory of children's faces by adults: Appearance does matter

Accurately detecting faces of children when their appearance has been altered is especially important in recognizing abducted or missing child. Face recognition studies have focussed on recognizing the adult perpetrator; however, there is lack of research on recognizing a child's face under different appearances. Two studies were conducted to determine what type of photos may increase recognition of missing children. In Experiment 1 participants were shown pictures of children's faces in a study phase in which their faces were either dirtied with negative affect or clean with positive affect, followed by a recognition phase. Accuracy and confidence were higher when the face at recognition was the same type as in the study phase. Experiment 2 replicated Experiment 1, adding four delay conditions: 10‐minute interval (10‐MI), 3, 6 or 12 week. Accuracy and confidence decreased over time and we again found a significant interaction between face at study and face at recognition. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.