Facial distinctiveness: Its measurement, distribution and influence on immediate and delayed recognition

It is conventionally assumed that many faces are relatively typical and few are distinctive (e.g. Valentine, 1991), producing a highly skewed distribu tion. However, Burton and Vokey (1998) argue that the distribution will be normal; and our review of previous res;Parch suggested this is true. In thr ee studies we explored the distributions using different techniques to esti mate distinctiveness. Both traditional ratings and pairwise selection produ ced normal distributions. However, ratings emphasizing the degree of deviat ion from a typical face were skewed towards the distinctive end of the scal e. The instructions given when distinctiveness is rated may not necessarily oppose typicality with distinctiveness: a face that is relatively typical might also stand out in a crowd because of some particular feature, familia rity or a host of other reasons. In our fourth study, recognition memory wa s predicted by all of the distinctiveness measures, with the relationship b eing stronger after a 5-week delay than in the immediate test.