The unfamiliar face effect on forensic craniofacial reconstruction and recognition

Area of Science:

• Forensic anthropology
• Facial reconstruction
• Human identification

Background:

• Previous forensic craniofacial reconstruction (CFR) reliability studies predominantly focused on European or African ancestry skulls.
• The influence of practitioner/assessor experience and ancestry on CFR recognition remains under-explored.
• The cross-race effect, where familiar ancestry faces are recognized more easily, has not been adequately investigated in relation to CFR accuracy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of an 'unfamiliar-race effect' on the accuracy of forensic craniofacial reconstruction.
• To evaluate the extent to which the cross-race effect influences the correct recognition rate of craniofacial reconstructions.

Main Methods:

• Eight forensic craniofacial reconstructions (CFRs) were created by experienced practitioners.
• Reconstructions were generated using skulls from three distinct ancestry groups.
• The study assessed the recognizability of these reconstructions.

Main Results:

• Practitioners demonstrated higher accuracy in producing recognizable craniofacial reconstructions when working with skulls from familiar ancestries.
• A discernible difference in recognizability was observed between reconstructions from familiar and unfamiliar ancestries.

Conclusions:

• Practitioner familiarity with skull ancestry significantly impacts the accuracy and recognizability of forensic craniofacial reconstructions.
• The findings suggest that the 'unfamiliar-race effect' can negatively influence CFR outcomes.
• Future research should consider practitioner ancestry and familiarity in evaluating CFR reliability.