Do you have trouble recognizing faces or never forget a face? The better you are at facial recognition, the more supportive relationships you will have, regardless of your personality type.
In a world-first study published last weekend in the journal CognitionA team of international researchers has reported some surprising findings related to facial recognition.
The first discovery is that the ability to recognize faces has nothing to do with how extroverted, outgoing, or social the person is. What is clear is that good facial memory is linked to the number of close, high-quality relationships the person has.
Researchers from the University of South Australia (UniSA), the University of Western Australia (UWA) and Curtin University, along with American colleagues from Wellesley College and Harvard Medical School, carried out four separate studies involving more than 3,000 people to unravel the relationship between recognition, social networks and personality traits.
In tests in which participants memorized new faces or identified celebrity faces, their scores correlated with the number of close relationships they enjoyed.
“People who identified more faces generally had larger social support networks, which bodes well for their overall health and happiness,” says UniSA psychologist Dr Laura Engfors, lead researcher.
“In concrete terms, the increase from the lowest (two) to the highest (28) number of faces that were successfully recognized in a test coincided with six additional close relationships, increasing from nine to 15. That’s an increase of two-thirds and “It’s one extra strong social bond for every four famous people recognized.”
The research found no link between facial recognition and a more social personality.
“Our findings dispel the idea that being sociable means you’ll probably be excellent at recognizing faces. It also helps dispel the misconception that not recognizing someone means you’re less sociable.
“The ability to recognize faces more easily also means that people can develop relationships more quickly.
“Imagine that you have had an interesting conversation with someone you just met. A few weeks later you run into them again. If you recognize them quickly and easily, it opens the door to developing the relationship you established in your first meeting. helping you to the relationship progresses.
“On the other hand, if you don’t recognize them, you miss the opportunity to take advantage of that initial interaction,” says Dr. Engfors.
Curtin University researcher and co-author Dr Linda Jeffery says being recognized by someone is a boost to a person’s self-esteem.
“It can make us feel important and valued, leading us to relate more warmly to that person, while we feel snubbed if someone we’ve met before doesn’t recognize us.”
Jeremy Wilmer, a psychologist and co-author at Wellesley College, hopes the findings will be used to build stronger communities that facilitate human connection.
“Understanding that not everyone finds it easy to recognize people can help us support those around us in social interactions,” says Professor Wilmer.
“Something as simple as name tags at a community barbecue or school event can make the difference between making a connection and losing it. Similarly, if you spot a flash of uncertainty on someone’s face when you say hello, a subtle reminder to help him place where you will be appreciated.”
People can try facial recognition on their own celebrities on researchers’ citizen science website TestMyBrain.org.