Not So Fast! Response Times in the Computerized Benton Face Recognition Test May Not Reflect Face Recognition Ability

Response times (RTs) are commonly used to assess cognitive abilities and have more recently been employed to assess face recognition ability. However, it is unclear whether face processing RTs predict recognition ability beyond accuracy. In the current study, we examined accuracy and RT on a widely used face matching assessment modified to collect meaningful RT data, the computerized Benton Facial Recognition Test (BFRT-c), and measured whether RTs predicted face recognition ability and developmental prosopagnosia (DP) vs. control group membership. 62 controls and 36 DPs performed the BFRT-c as well as validated measures of face recognition ability: the Cambridge Face Memory Test (CFMT) and a Famous Faces Memory Test (FFMT). We found little-to-no association between BFRT-c accuracy and RT in both controls (r=.07, p=.59) and DPs (r=.03, p=.86). In controls, BFRT-c accuracy robustly predicted CFMT performance (r=.49, p<.001), FFMT performance (r=.43, p<.001), and a CFMT-FFMT composite (r=.54, p<.001), whereas BFRT-c RT was not significantly associated with these measures (all r's.21). We found that BFRT-c accuracy significantly differed between DPs and controls, but RT failed to differentiate the groups. Results in controls and DPs were unchanged after outlier removal. Further, combined scores of BFRT-c accuracy and RT (inverse efficiency score and balanced integration score) did not predict face recognition ability or DP vs. control group membership better than accuracy alone. These results suggest that the BFRT-c RT is not useful for characterizing individual differences in face recognition and, more generally, emphasizes the importance of validating RT measures before using them as individual difference/diagnostic measures.