Are portrait artists superior face recognisers? Limited impact of adult experience on face recognition ability.

Tree, J. and Horry, R. and Riley, Howard and Wilmer, J. (2017) Are portrait artists superior face recognisers? Limited impact of adult experience on face recognition ability. Journal of Experimental Psychology - Human Perception and Performance, 43 (4). pp. 667-676. ISSN 0096-1523

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Abstract

Across two studies, we asked whether extensive experience in portrait art is associated with face recognition ability, In Study 1,64 students completed a standardized face recognition test before and after completing a year-long art course that included substantial portraiture training. We found no evidence of an improvement in face recognition after training over and above what would be expected by practice alone. In Study 2, we investigated the possibility that more extensive experience might be needed for such advantages to emerge, by testing a cohort of expert portrait artists (N=28),all of whom had many years of experience, In addition to memory for faces, we also explored memory for abstract art and for words in a paired-associate recognition test. The expert portrait artists performed similarly to a large, normative comparison sample on memory for faces and words, but showed a small advantage for abstract art. Taken together, our results converge with existing literature to suggest that there is relatively little plasticity in face recognition in adulthood, at which point our substantial everyday experience with faces may have pushed us to the limits of our capabilities

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: This paper is not yet published. This article may not exactly replicate the final version published in the APA journal. It is not a copy of the record.
Uncontrolled Keywords: Face recognition
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
N Fine Arts > NC Drawing Design Illustration
Divisions: Institutes and Academies > Wales Institute for Science & Art (WISA) > Academic Discipline: Art & Media
Depositing User: Professor Howard Riley
Date Deposited: 25 Jul 2017 11:13
Last Modified: 05 Apr 2023 09:18
URI: https://repository.uwtsd.ac.uk/id/eprint/752

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