Dynamic facial recognition: examination of a natural phenomenon.

Drawing on anecdotal experiences in which former acquaintances meet and recognize each other after years of separation and physiognomic change, six studies sought to determine if dynamic facial recognition was a reliable natural phenomenon. Experiments 1 and 2 found evidence for an ability to recognize age-regressed faces of university faculty and staff. Familiarity, whether real-life or experimentally induced, enhanced recognition of constant and age-regressed pictures. Experiments 3 and 4 found evidence for an ability to recognize age-progressed faces, implying that dynamic facial recognition is a bidirectional cognitive ability found under conditions of intentional and incidental learning. Experiments 5 and 6 used picture-sorting and picture-matching tasks and found that performance was inversely related to the age span and to the amount of facial change between standard and comparison pictures. It was concluded that dynamic facial recognition is a reliable natural phenomenon that can be facilitated by familiarity. Notes on the source of the familiarity effect and the basis for dynamic recognition are provided.