Stark Individual Differences: Face Recognition Ability Influences the Relationship Between Confidence and Accuracy in a Recognition Test of Game of Thrones Actors

Growing evidence suggests face identifications made with high confidence are typically accurate (Wixted & Wells, 2017). However, few studies capture the complexities of real-world face recognition (e.g., non-experimental setting, varied contexts). Moreover, individual differences in face recognition ability may moderate the confidence-accuracy relationship (Grabman et al., 2019). In this study, we reanalyzed data from 32 participants who watched six seasons of the television show Game of Thrones for entertainment as the series aired (Devue et al., 2019). Participants provided confidence ratings on a 168-item old-new recognition test of actors and completed a standard test of face recognition ability. Highest confidence ratings were remarkably accurate -- even considering retention-intervals of >3 years and large changes in appearance. However, confidence was generally a better indicator of accuracy for stronger, as compared to weaker, face recognizers.