| Super recogniser | |
|---|---|
| Specialty | Psychology, cognitive neuroscience |
| Frequency | ~2% "Super Recognisers". |
Super recogniser is a term coined in 2009 by Harvard and University College London researchers for people with significantly better-than-average face recognition ability. [1] [2] Super recognisers are able to memorise and recall thousands of faces, often having seen them only once. [3]
Some super recognisers do not have increased ability to remember facial information. Rather, they are exceptional at comparing two juxtaposed images of faces, and can discriminate significant visual information about them, such as if they are the same person or not. [4]
The genes contributing to the ability are mostly unknown, although facial recognition skills are highly heritable. [5] For a long time, it was believed that the general population had similar levels of facial recognition, and that anyone could be taught to be a super recogniser. However, this has long been proved false, as genetics play the dominant role in the highly variable degrees of facial perception the population has. [6]
It is estimated that 1 to 2% of the population are super recognisers [3] who can remember 80% of faces they have seen compared to 20% in the general population, [7] but these figures are disputed, as other sources may put the frequency closer to 90%. [8] [9] It is the extreme opposite of prosopagnosia. Super recognisers can match faces better than computer recognition systems in some circumstances. [3] [10] [11] The science behind this is poorly understood but may be related to the fusiform face area part of the brain. [3]
The skill is recognised and employed among the British intelligence community. [12]
In May 2015, the London Metropolitan Police officially formed a team made up of people with this heightened capability for recognising people and put them to work identifying individuals whose faces are captured on CCTV. [3] As of 2013, Scotland Yard has a squad of over 200 super recognisers. [13] In August 2018, it was reported that the Metropolitan Police had used two super recognisers to identify the suspects of the attack on Sergei and Yulia Skripal, after trawling through up to 5,000 hours of CCTV footage from Salisbury and numerous airports across the country. [14] [15] Other police forces using super recognisers include Thames Valley Police, City of London Police, Jersey Police, and West Midlands Police. [16]
German police forces have made increasing use of super recognisers for suspect identification, such as in the wake of the 2020 Stuttgart riot. [17]
Super recognisers performed well in the Glasgow Face Matching Test in comparison with a control group. [8]