Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 20, 2026
06:18
The Collective Trust Game: An Online Group Adaptation of the Trust Game Based on the HoneyComb Paradigm
Published on: October 20, 2022
2.5K
Physogs: a game with consequences
1Mississippi State University, MS 39762, United States.
Endeavour
|August 18, 2019
Summary
Physogs, a 1939 UK card game based on physiognomy, influenced Jacques Penry's later development of Photofit, a facial recognition system used by British police.
Area of Science:
- Forensic Science
- Psychology
- History of Science
Background:
- The study examines the historical link between physiognomy and facial recognition technology.
- It introduces Physogs, a 1939 card game based on physiognomic principles for reading facial features and character.
- It highlights the development of Photofit, a composite facial recognition system adopted by British police in the late 1960s.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the evolution of physiognomy from a card game to a policing tool.
- To understand Jacques Penry's role in bridging early physiognomic concepts with modern facial recognition.
- To investigate the origins of composite facial recognition systems in law enforcement.
Main Methods:
- Historical analysis of the Physogs card game and its principles.
- Examination of the development and implementation of the Photofit system.
- Biographical research on Jacques Penry and his contributions.
Main Results:
- Physogs served as an early, albeit unconventional, educational tool for physiognomic interpretation.
- Jacques Penry's work represents a direct lineage from physiognomic theories to practical facial composite technology.
- The transition demonstrates how pseudoscientific concepts can influence technological development in forensic applications.
Conclusions:
- The card game Physogs represents an unexpected but significant precursor to modern facial recognition systems.
- Jacques Penry's innovative application of physiognomy laid the groundwork for the Photofit system used in British policing.
- This historical trajectory underscores the complex and sometimes indirect path of scientific and technological advancement.
Related Concept Videos
01:08Timing and Consequences on Behavior
366
In operant conditioning, the timing of reinforcement is crucial. For animals like rats and cats, immediate reinforcement (within a few seconds) is much more effective than delayed reinforcement. For example, a food reward for a rat needs to follow within 30 seconds of pressing a bar to be effective.
Humans, however, can respond to delayed reinforcers. We often make decisions between immediate small rewards and delayed larger rewards. This ability to delay gratification is a significant...
Humans, however, can respond to delayed reinforcers. We often make decisions between immediate small rewards and delayed larger rewards. This ability to delay gratification is a significant...
366
01:24Social Foundations of Self I: Play and Game
194
The development of self in children is deeply rooted in social interactions, mainly through stages of play and structured games. These stages, outlined by sociologist George Herbert Mead, illustrate how children progressively learn to understand and adopt social roles, forming a cohesive sense of self.The Play Stage: Imitation and Simple Role-TakingIn the early years of childhood, the play stage is characterized by imitative behavior, where children engage in role-playing based on familiar...
194
01:40Archival Research
17.0K
Some researchers gain access to large amounts of data without interacting with a single research participant. Instead, they use existing records to answer various research questions. This type of research approach is known as archival research. Archival research relies on looking at past records or data sets to look for interesting patterns or relationships. For example, a researcher might access the academic records of all individuals who enrolled in college within the past ten years and...
17.0K
02:10Social Scripts
10.2K
People tend to know what behavior is expected of them in specific, familiar settings. A script is a person’s knowledge about the sequence of events expected in a specific setting (Schank & Abelson, 1977). Essentially, scripts are a particular kind of schema, one containing default values for the features within an event. In the restaurant example, the script's features include the props (e.g., tables, menu, food, and money), the roles to be played (e.g., customer and waiter),...
10.2K
02:08Trait and State Self-Esteem
11.4K
The term self-esteem is often used generically, to refer to how people feel about themselves. However, according to research, there are three distinct constructs that should not be used interchangeably (Brown & Marshall, 2006).
11.4K
01:55Egoism and Altruism
93.1K
Voluntary behavior with the intent to help other people is called prosocial behavior. Why do people help other people? Is personal benefit such as feeling good about oneself the only reason people help one another?
93.1K