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, Dobolyi, Berelovich, & Dodson, 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, Wride, & Grimshaw, 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.