Are Estimates of Faces' Ages Less Accurate When They Wear Sunglasses or Face Masks and Do These Disguises Make It Harder to Later Recognise the Faces When Undisguised?

Autor/inn/en	Thorley, Craig; Acton, Benjamin; Armstrong, Jesse; Ford, Shanade; Gundry, Margaret
Titel	Are Estimates of Faces' Ages Less Accurate When They Wear Sunglasses or Face Masks and Do These Disguises Make It Harder to Later Recognise the Faces When Undisguised?
Quelle	In: Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, 7 (2022), Artikel 17 (12 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Thorley, Craig)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	2365-7464
DOI	10.1186/s41235-022-00370-0
Schlagwörter	Age; Accuracy; Recognition (Psychology); Human Body; Cognitive Ability + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Alter; Lebensalter; Recognition; Wiedererkennen; Menschlicher Körper; Denkfähigkeit
Abstract	This study examined whether our ability to accurately estimate unfamiliar faces' ages declines when they are wearing sunglasses or surgical-style face masks and whether these disguises make it harder to later recognise those faces when undisguised. In theory, both disguises should harm age estimation accuracy and later face recognition as they occlude facial information that is used to determine a face's age and identity. To establish whether this is the case, we had participants estimate the age of unfamiliar faces that were pictured wearing no disguises, sunglasses, or face masks. The participants then completed a face recognition test where they had to distinguish between the previously seen faces and new faces. Importantly, none of faces wore disguises in this latter test. Participants' estimates of the undisguised faces' ages were inaccurate by a Median of 5.15 years. Their accuracy barely changed when the faces wore sunglasses but declined by a Median of 1.30 years when they wore face masks. Moreover, subsequent undisguised face recognition was less likely to occur when the faces previously wore sunglasses or face masks, with large effects observed. These findings demonstrate the relative importance of different facial areas when estimating faces' ages and later recognising them. They also have implications for policing as they suggest it may be harder for eyewitnesses to accurately estimate the age of criminals who wear face masks during offences, and it may be harder for them to later recognise criminals in line-ups if the criminals wear sunglasses or face masks during offences. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01