Introducing the female Cambridge face memory test - long form (F-CFMT+)

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Social Psychology

Background:

• The Cambridge Face Memory Test (CFMT) is a widely used tool for assessing face recognition.
• Existing versions primarily use White male faces and lack psychometric evaluation for longer, more difficult versions.
• A version specifically using female faces was needed to broaden assessment capabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and psychometrically evaluate the Female Cambridge Face Memory Test - Long Form (F-CFMT+).
• To compare the F-CFMT+ with the Male Cambridge Face Memory Test - Long Form (M-CFMT+).
• To assess the validity and reliability of the F-CFMT+ for recognizing unfamiliar White faces.

Main Methods:

• Developed the F-CFMT+ using female faces.
• Administered the F-CFMT+, M-CFMT+, an old-new face recognition task, and a car recognition task to typically developing emerging adults (18-25 years old).
• Analyzed psychometric properties, including internal consistency, convergent validity, and divergent validity.

Main Results:

• The F-CFMT+ demonstrated validity and internal consistency as a measure of unfamiliar face recognition.
• Performance on the F-CFMT+ and M-CFMT+ can be directly compared when used together.
• Both tasks showed high convergent validity with each other and good divergent validity with car recognition.

Conclusions:

• The F-CFMT+ is a psychometrically sound measure for assessing recognition of unfamiliar White female faces.
• It can be used independently or combined with the M-CFMT+ for a more comprehensive assessment of face recognition.
• This tool will aid researchers investigating face recognition in both typical and atypical populations.