Robust associations between the 20-item prosopagnosia index and the Cambridge Face Memory Test in the general population.

Katie L H Gray,Richard Cook,Geoffrey Bird

doi:10.1098/rsos.160923

Abstract

Developmental prosopagnosia (DP) is a neurodevelopmental condition, characterized by lifelong face recognition deficits. Leading research groups diagnose the condition using complementary computer-based tasks and self-report measures. In an attempt to standardize the reporting of self-report evidence, we recently developed the 20-item prosopagnosia index (PI20), a short questionnaire measure of prosopagnosic traits suitable for screening adult samples for DP. Strong correlations between scores on the PI20 and performance on the Cambridge Face Memory Test (CFMT) appeared to confirm that individuals possess sufficient insight into their face recognition ability to complete a self-report measure of prosopagnosic traits. However, the extent to which people have insight into their face recognition abilities remains contentious. A lingering concern is that feedback from formal testing, received prior to administration of the PI20, may have augmented the self-insight of some respondents in the original validation study. To determine whether the significant correlation with the CFMT was an artefact of previously delivered feedback, we sought to replicate the validation study in individuals with no history of formal testing. We report highly significant correlations in two independent samples drawn from the general population, confirming: (i) that a significant relationship exists between PI20 scores and performance on the CFMT, and (ii) that this is not dependent on the inclusion of individuals who have previously received feedback. These findings support the view that people have sufficient insight into their face recognition abilities to complete a self-report measure of prosopagnosic traits.

Highlights

Developmental prosopagnosia (DP) is a neurodevelopmental condition, characterized by lifelong deficits in facial identity recognition, despite normal intelligence, typical low-level vision and no history of brain damage [1,2,3,4]
We focus on the relationship with the CFMT as this is widely regarded as the most telling source of diagnostic evidence; while high scores on the CFMT typically exclude a diagnosis, members of DP samples sometimes score within the normal range on the CFPT (e.g. [15]) and on famous face recognition tests (e.g. [16])
The correlations presented here represent important additions to the literature on the PI20 insofar as they estimate the relationship seen between PI20 scores and CFMT performance in the general population

Summary

Memory Test in the general population

Developmental prosopagnosia (DP) is a neurodevelopmental condition, characterized by lifelong face recognition deficits. Strong correlations between scores on the PI20 and performance on the Cambridge Face Memory Test (CFMT) appeared to confirm that individuals possess sufficient insight into their face recognition ability to complete a self-report measure of prosopagnosic traits. A lingering concern is that feedback from formal testing, received prior to administration of the PI20, may have augmented the self-insight of some respondents in the original validation study. To determine whether the significant correlation with the CFMT was an artefact of previously delivered feedback, we sought to replicate the validation study in individuals with no history of formal testing. On the inclusion of individuals who have previously received feedback These findings support the 2 view that people have sufficient insight into their face recognition abilities to complete a self-report measure of prosopagnosic traits

Introduction

Method and results

Findings

Discussion