Face recognition and description abilities in people with mild intellectual disabilities

Julie Gawrylowicz, Fiona Gabbert, Derek Carson, William R. Lindsay, Peter J. B. Hancock

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

Abstract

People with intellectual disabilities (ID) are as likely as the general population to find themselves in the situation of having to identify and/or describe a perpetrator's face to the police. However, limited verbal and memory abilities in people with ID might prevent them to engage in standard police procedures. Two experiments examined face recognition and description abilities in people with mild intellectual disabilities (mID) and compared their performance with that of people without ID. Experiment 1 used three old/new face recognition tasks. Experiment 2 consisted of two face description tasks, during which participants had to verbally describe faces from memory and with the target in view. Participants with mID performed significantly poorer on both recognition and recall tasks than control participants. However, their group performance was better than chance and they showed variability in performance depending on the measures introduced. The practical implications of these findings in forensic settings are discussed.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)435-446
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities
Volume26
Issue number5
Early online date8 Aug 2013
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sep 2013

Fingerprint

Aptitude
Intellectual Disability
Police
Disabled Persons
Facial Recognition
Population

Cite this

Gawrylowicz, Julie ; Gabbert, Fiona ; Carson, Derek ; Lindsay, William R. ; Hancock, Peter J. B. / Face recognition and description abilities in people with mild intellectual disabilities. In: Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities. 2013 ; Vol. 26, No. 5. pp. 435-446.
@article{ddfb6344669c4f4f84237b3042acd12f,
title = "Face recognition and description abilities in people with mild intellectual disabilities",
abstract = "People with intellectual disabilities (ID) are as likely as the general population to find themselves in the situation of having to identify and/or describe a perpetrator's face to the police. However, limited verbal and memory abilities in people with ID might prevent them to engage in standard police procedures. Two experiments examined face recognition and description abilities in people with mild intellectual disabilities (mID) and compared their performance with that of people without ID. Experiment 1 used three old/new face recognition tasks. Experiment 2 consisted of two face description tasks, during which participants had to verbally describe faces from memory and with the target in view. Participants with mID performed significantly poorer on both recognition and recall tasks than control participants. However, their group performance was better than chance and they showed variability in performance depending on the measures introduced. The practical implications of these findings in forensic settings are discussed.",
author = "Julie Gawrylowicz and Fiona Gabbert and Derek Carson and Lindsay, {William R.} and Hancock, {Peter J. B.}",
year = "2013",
month = "9",
doi = "10.1111/jar.12028",
language = "English",
volume = "26",
pages = "435--446",
journal = "Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities",
number = "5",

}

Gawrylowicz, J, Gabbert, F, Carson, D, Lindsay, WR & Hancock, PJB 2013, 'Face recognition and description abilities in people with mild intellectual disabilities', Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, vol. 26, no. 5, pp. 435-446. https://doi.org/10.1111/jar.12028

Face recognition and description abilities in people with mild intellectual disabilities. / Gawrylowicz, Julie; Gabbert, Fiona; Carson, Derek; Lindsay, William R.; Hancock, Peter J. B.

In: Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, Vol. 26, No. 5, 09.2013, p. 435-446.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

TY - JOUR

T1 - Face recognition and description abilities in people with mild intellectual disabilities

AU - Gawrylowicz, Julie

AU - Gabbert, Fiona

AU - Carson, Derek

AU - Lindsay, William R.

AU - Hancock, Peter J. B.

PY - 2013/9

Y1 - 2013/9

N2 - People with intellectual disabilities (ID) are as likely as the general population to find themselves in the situation of having to identify and/or describe a perpetrator's face to the police. However, limited verbal and memory abilities in people with ID might prevent them to engage in standard police procedures. Two experiments examined face recognition and description abilities in people with mild intellectual disabilities (mID) and compared their performance with that of people without ID. Experiment 1 used three old/new face recognition tasks. Experiment 2 consisted of two face description tasks, during which participants had to verbally describe faces from memory and with the target in view. Participants with mID performed significantly poorer on both recognition and recall tasks than control participants. However, their group performance was better than chance and they showed variability in performance depending on the measures introduced. The practical implications of these findings in forensic settings are discussed.

AB - People with intellectual disabilities (ID) are as likely as the general population to find themselves in the situation of having to identify and/or describe a perpetrator's face to the police. However, limited verbal and memory abilities in people with ID might prevent them to engage in standard police procedures. Two experiments examined face recognition and description abilities in people with mild intellectual disabilities (mID) and compared their performance with that of people without ID. Experiment 1 used three old/new face recognition tasks. Experiment 2 consisted of two face description tasks, during which participants had to verbally describe faces from memory and with the target in view. Participants with mID performed significantly poorer on both recognition and recall tasks than control participants. However, their group performance was better than chance and they showed variability in performance depending on the measures introduced. The practical implications of these findings in forensic settings are discussed.

U2 - 10.1111/jar.12028

DO - 10.1111/jar.12028

M3 - Article

VL - 26

SP - 435

EP - 446

JO - Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities

JF - Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities

IS - 5

ER -

Gawrylowicz J, Gabbert F, Carson D, Lindsay WR, Hancock PJB. Face recognition and description abilities in people with mild intellectual disabilities. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities. 2013 Sep;26(5):435-446. https://doi.org/10.1111/jar.12028

Access to Document

Related content

Student theses

The construction of facial composites by witnesses with mild learning disabilities

Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis