Constructing identifiable composite faces: the importance of cognitive alignment of interview and construction procedure

Skelton, Faye Collette orcid iconORCID: 0000-0003-4792-4238, Hancock, Peter J.B., Jones, Helen orcid iconORCID: 0000-0002-2716-051X, Battersby, Kirsty, Fodarella, Cristina orcid iconORCID: 0000-0001-5551-3450, Logan, Karen, Jones, Ben and Frowd, Charlie orcid iconORCID: 0000-0002-5082-1259 (2019) Constructing identifiable composite faces: the importance of cognitive alignment of interview and construction procedure. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 26 (3). pp. 507-521. ISSN 1076-898X

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Official URL: https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/xap0000257

Abstract

We investigated the impact of congruency between the witness interview and method used to construct a composite face. Experiment 1, using a typical feature-by-feature composite method, revealed that aligning cognitive processes during interview and face construction enhanced the effectiveness of composites compared with composites produced following unaligned (incongruent) procedures. Experiment 2 revealed that incorporating character judgements in the witness interview substantially enhanced identification of feature-based composites when constructing the central (internal) features first, suggesting that such judgements focus attention on this region of the face. Experiment 3 explored alignment of processes using an approach based on an evolutionary algorithm, a method requiring witnesses to create a composite by selecting from arrays based on the eye-region. A combination of character judgements, first for the whole face and then for the eye region, led to best-identified composites. Overall, results indicate that more effective composites are produced when both interview and construction procedures are aligned cognitively. Results are discussed with relevance to the theory of transfer-appropriate processing (Morris, Bransford, & Franks, 1977).


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