Face & Forensic Psychology Research Collective
Understanding how people recognise faces—and why they get it wrong
Helping people recognise faces, detect deception, and make better decisions when it matters most.
Our research focuses on face recognition, memory, and artificial intelligence in real-world settings such as policing, security, and online environments.
What we do
We study how people recognise faces, remember events, and make decisions in real-world situations—from policing and border security to everyday online interactions.
Real-world impact
Presenting research to policymakers and practitioners
Interactive tools used by hundreds of thousands of people
Communicating research through national and international media
Try the research
UNSW Face Test
Test your ability to recognise faces and compare your performance globally.
Launch test →
AI Face Demo
Test your ability to recognise faces and compare your performance globally.
Launch test →
Face Research Registry
Sign up to take part in research studies and contribute to new discoveries.
Join →GFMT2 Database
Access a widely used face matching dataset for research and applied use.
Request access →Research Themes
Face Recognition Ability
Why people vary dramatically in their ability to recognise unfamiliar faces—from face blindness to super-recognisers.
Identity Matching
How people compare faces across images, such as passports and CCTV, and why errors occur in real-world settings.
Eyewitness Memory
How people remember events and faces, and why memory can be unreliable in legal and forensic contexts.
Face Identification in Practice
Improving how faces are identified in policing, security, and legal systems.
Decision-Making Under Pressure
How people interpret evidence and make judgments in high-stakes situations.
AI & Synthetic Faces
How people detect AI-generated faces and interact with emerging technologies like deepfakes.
Meet the Researchers
A/Prof David White
Understanding how people recognise faces
Studies why some people are exceptionally good—or poor—at recognising identity, and how this can be applied in policing and security.
Email: david.white@unsw.edu.au
Media & Impact
“Our research has been featured across national and international media, shaping how people understand face recognition, memory, and artificial intelligence.”
Across television, radio, print, and online platforms, our work has reached millions of people and contributed to public conversations about identity, decision-making, and emerging technologies. We regularly provide expert commentary on topics including deepfakes, eyewitness memory, and forensic identification.
Featured in The Guardian
Super-recognisers can identify faces others miss — our research explains why.
Read article →
Who we work with
UNSW Face Identification Group (UFIG)
The Unfamiliar Face Identification Group (UFIG) brings together researchers, practitioners, and organisations working on face identification in real-world settings.
What is UFIG?
UFIG connects government, police, industry, and academic researchers to address key challenges in unfamiliar face identification—from human performance to AI systems and legal implications.
Why it matters
This work has both scientific and practical impact, improving how identities are verified in contexts like border control, policing, and security systems.
UFIG Meeting 2026
The Unfamiliar Facial Identification Group Meeting (UFIG2026) took place on:
Monday 2nd February – Tuesday 3rd February 2026
The University of New South Wales, Sydney
The two-day event featured presentations from practitioners and academics, in-depth discussions, and networking opportunities
The 2027 event is scheduled to be held Jan-Feb at the University of Queensland.
For enquiries: UFIG@unsw.edu.au