MUG FILE PROJECT REPORT NUMBER UHMUG-3 - FACTORS AFFECTING FACIAL RECOGNITION

• NCJ Number: 47586
• Author(s): K R LAUGHERY; R H FOWLER; B T RHODES
• Date Published: Unknown
• Length: 52 pages
• Grant Number(s): 76-NI-99-012
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice
• Corporate Author: University of Houston
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

THE RESULTS OF AN INVESTIGATION OF FACTORS AFFECTING FACIAL RECOGNITION -- THE EFFECT OF BEARDS, HAIR LENGTHS, GLASSES, THE SEX OF WITNESSES, TIME LAPSE, AND THE USE OF DRAWINGS AND IDENTIFICATION KITS -- ARE PRESENTED.

Abstract

FACIAL CHARACTERISTICS UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON PROJECT. IN THE EXPERIMENT ON THE EFFECT OF FACIAL ACCESSORIES, SPECIFICALLY EYEGLASSES, BEARDS, AND HAIR STYLES, A SERIES OF 480 UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WERE SHOWN FOUR PICTURES OF A TARGET PERSON, AND WERE THEN ASKED TO IDENTIFY THAT PERSON IN A SECOND SERIES OF PHOTOGRAPHS. ALL OF THE TARGETS WERE WHITE MALES. IT WAS FOUND THAT THE PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF GLASSES HAD THE LEAST EFFECT ON RECOGNITION, BUT BEARDS AND HAIRSTYLES CONTRIBUTED SIGNIFICANTLY TO ERROR. ALTHOUGH HAIR STYLE DOES NOT CONCEAL ANY OF THE FACE, IT SEEMS TO BECOME AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE WITNESSES' PERCEPTIONS OF THE PERSON. GLASSES AFFECTED RECOGNITION ONLY WHEN WITNESSES HAD TO IDENTIFY NONEYEGLASS-WEARING SUBJECTS WHO HAD INITIALLY APPEARED WEARING GLASSES. THE SECOND EXPERIMENT FOUND THAT WITNESS SEX HAD NO SIGNIFICANT EFFECT ON IDENTIFICATION. THE THIRD AND FOURTH EXPERIMENTS, DEALING RESPECTIVELY WITH TIME LAPSE AND THE USE OF KITS AND DRAWING, WERE INTERRELATED. IT WAS FOUND THAT HELPING AN ARTIST SKETCH A PICTURE OF THE SUSPECT OR USING AN IDENTIFICATION KIT REINFORCED WITNESS RECOGNITION EVEN AFTER PERIODS OF 6 MONTHS TO 1 YEAR. IN THIS PHASE OF THE STUDY 19 STUDENTS, WHO HAD PARTICIPATED IN AN EARLIER FACIAL RECOGNITION STUDY INVOLVING TARGET PERSON OBSERVATION AND IMAGE RECONSTRUCTION, WERE SHOWN PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE SAME TARGET MIXED WITH PHOTOGRAPHS OF DECOYS. ONLY FOUR OF THESE WITNESSES FAILED TO RECOGNIZE THE TARGET, EVEN AFTER PERIODS OF UP TO 1 YEAR. THE FOURTH EXPERIMENT FOUND THAT PERSONS HAD SOME DIFFICULTY TRANSFERRING FACIAL CHARACTERISTICS FROM A SKETCH OR KIT IMAGE TO A PHOTOGRAPH, ALTHOUGH AGAIN, THE ACT OF RECONSTRUCTING A FACE SEEMED TO HELP THE WITNESS RETAIN THE IMAGE OVER A LONG PERIOD OF TIME. THE EXPERIMENTS ARE DESCRIBED IN DETAIL. SAMPLES OF THE EXPERIMENT MATERIALS ARE APPENDED. CHARTS DETAIL FINDINGS. SEE ALSO NCJ-47585 AND 47587-47592. (GLR)