EXPRESS: Collaborative decision-making trains face and voice identity matching
Kay Ritchie1, Nadine Lavan2, Patricia Bestelmeyer3
1School of Psychology, Sport Science and Wellbeing, University of Lincoln, UK.
Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology (2006)
|July 24, 2026
Summary
Working with a partner improves performance in identifying unfamiliar voices and faces. This "pairs training effect" benefits weaker performers and the gains persist even after working alone.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Forensic Science
- Human Perception
Background:
- Humans have difficulty matching unfamiliar faces and voices.
- The pairs training effect improves face matching when done in pairs.
- Previous research focused on simultaneous face matching tasks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the pairs training effect in unfamiliar voice matching.
- To examine the pairs training effect in sequential face matching.
- To determine if the pairs training effect applies to sequentially presented stimuli.
Main Methods:
- Participants completed voice and face identity matching tasks.
- Tasks were performed individually, in pairs, and individually again.
- Stimuli were presented sequentially in both voice and face matching experiments.
Main Results:
- Poorer performing participants improved when completing tasks in pairs.
- Performance gains were retained in the final individual phase.
- The pairs training effect was observed in both voice and sequential face matching.
Conclusions:
- The pairs training effect extends to unfamiliar voice identity matching.
- The pairs training effect is effective with sequentially presented stimuli.
- Collaborative training enhances perceptual matching abilities and leads to lasting improvements.
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