Cambridge Face Memory Task¶
HED Task ID: hedtsk_cambridge_face_memory
Also known as: Cambridge Face Memory Test, CFMT, Cambridge Face Test
Learn target faces across viewpoints, then identify them among distractors under increasingly difficult conditions (novel viewpoints, visual noise); accuracy indexes face recognition ability and configural face processing.
Description¶
The Cambridge Face Memory Test is the standard measure of face recognition ability for both clinical and individual-difference research. Participants study six target faces shown in three different viewpoints. Testing occurs in three phases of increasing difficulty: in Phase 1, targets are tested in studied viewpoints; in Phase 2, targets appear in novel viewpoints and lighting conditions; in Phase 3, Gaussian visual noise is added to the images. Each phase has 12 trials (one target face among five distractor faces), yielding a total score of 72. The CFMT specifically indexes holistic and configural face processing, is relatively culture-fair, and has become the benchmark for diagnosing prosopagnosia and studying “super-recognizers.”
Inclusion test¶
Procedure |
Participants learn a set of target faces during study, then identify them among distractor faces in increasingly difficult test phases (same image, novel viewpoint, plus noise). |
Manipulation |
Test phase difficulty (same view, novel view, contrast-degraded); number of target/distractor faces. |
Measurement |
Total correct identifications across phases; accuracy per phase; comparison to prosopagnosia norms. |
Variations¶
Variation |
Description |
Justification |
|---|---|---|
CFMT-Original |
Six Caucasian male faces; 72 trials across three difficulty phases. |
Canonical 72-item CFMT with novel face learning phases |
CFMT-Australian (CFMT+) |
Extended version with additional difficult trials; better ceiling. |
Australian race face set; assesses own-race advantage with matched procedure |
CFMT-Cars |
Vehicle stimuli replacing faces; controls for domain-general visual memory. |
Cars instead of faces; object recognition control condition with same task structure |
CFMT-Inverted |
Upside-down faces to measure inversion effect as an index of holistic processing. |
Inverted face stimuli; disrupts configural processing; distinct task demand |
Cambridge Face Perception Test (CFPT) |
Companion test measuring perceptual face processing (not memory). |
Morph-ordering perception task instead of recognition; different participant operation |
Short-Form CFMT |
Abbreviated versions for screening. |
Abbreviated item set for screening; recognized published short-form instrument |
Cognitive processes¶
This task engages the following cognitive processes:
Key references¶
{‘authors’: ‘Duchaine, B., & Nakayama, K.’, ‘year’: 2006, ‘title’: ‘The Cambridge Face Memory Test: Results for neurologically intact individuals and an investigation of its validity using inverted face stimuli and prosopagnosic participants’, ‘venue’: ‘Neuropsychologia’, ‘venue_type’: ‘journal’, ‘journal’: ‘Neuropsychologia’, ‘volume’: ‘44’, ‘issue’: ‘4’, ‘pages’: ‘576-585’, ‘doi’: ‘10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2005.07.001’, ‘openalex_id’: None, ‘pmid’: None, ‘citation_string’: ‘Duchaine, B., & Nakayama, K. (2006). The Cambridge Face Memory Test: Results for neurologically intact individuals and an investigation of its validity using inverted face stimuli and prosopagnosic participants. Neuropsychologia, 44(4), 576–585.’, ‘url’: ‘https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2005.07.001’, ‘source’: ‘crossref’, ‘confidence’: ‘high’, ‘verified_on’: ‘2026-04-20’}
{‘authors’: ‘Kanwisher, N., McDermott, J., & Chun, M. M.’, ‘year’: 1997, ‘title’: ‘The Fusiform Face Area: A Module in Human Extrastriate Cortex Specialized for Face Perception’, ‘venue’: ‘The Journal of Neuroscience’, ‘venue_type’: ‘journal’, ‘journal’: ‘The Journal of Neuroscience’, ‘volume’: ‘17’, ‘issue’: ‘11’, ‘pages’: ‘4302-4311’, ‘doi’: ‘10.1523/jneurosci.17-11-04302.1997’, ‘openalex_id’: None, ‘pmid’: None, ‘citation_string’: ‘Kanwisher, N., McDermott, J., & Chun, M. M. (1997). The fusiform face area: A module in human extrastriate cortex specialized for face perception. Journal of Neuroscience, 17(11), 4302–4311.’, ‘url’: ‘https://doi.org/10.1523/jneurosci.17-11-04302.1997’, ‘source’: ‘crossref’, ‘confidence’: ‘high’, ‘verified_on’: ‘2026-04-20’}
{‘authors’: ‘McKone, E., Kanwisher, N., & Duchaine, B. C.’, ‘year’: 2007, ‘title’: ‘Can generic expertise explain special processing for faces?’, ‘venue’: ‘Trends in Cognitive Sciences’, ‘venue_type’: ‘journal’, ‘journal’: ‘Trends in Cognitive Sciences’, ‘volume’: ‘11’, ‘issue’: ‘1’, ‘pages’: ‘8-15’, ‘doi’: ‘10.1016/j.tics.2006.11.002’, ‘openalex_id’: None, ‘pmid’: None, ‘citation_string’: ‘McKone, E., Kanwisher, N., & Duchaine, B. C. (2007). Can generic expertise explain special processing for faces? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 11(1), 8–15.’, ‘url’: ‘https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2006.11.002’, ‘source’: ‘crossref’, ‘confidence’: ‘high’, ‘verified_on’: ‘2026-04-20’}
Recent references¶
{‘authors’: ‘Bobak, A. K., Pampoulov, P., & Bate, S.’, ‘year’: 2016, ‘title’: ‘Detecting Superior Face Recognition Skills in a Large Sample of Young British Adults’, ‘venue’: ‘Frontiers in Psychology’, ‘venue_type’: ‘journal’, ‘journal’: ‘Frontiers in Psychology’, ‘volume’: ‘7’, ‘issue’: ‘2’, ‘pages’: ‘253–263’, ‘doi’: ‘10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01378’, ‘openalex_id’: None, ‘pmid’: None, ‘citation_string’: ‘Bobak, A. K., Pampoulov, P., & Bate, S. (2016). Detecting superior face recognition skills in a large sample of young British adults. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 69(2), 253–263.’, ‘url’: ‘https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01378’, ‘source’: ‘crossref’, ‘confidence’: ‘high’, ‘verified_on’: ‘2026-04-20’}
{‘authors’: ‘Bowles, D. C., McKone, E., Dawel, A., Duchaine, B., Palermo, R., Schmalzl, L., Rivolta, D., Wilson, C. E., & Yovel, G.’, ‘year’: 2009, ‘title’: ‘Diagnosing prosopagnosia: Effects of ageing, sex, and participant–stimulus ethnic match on the Cambridge Face Memory Test and Cambridge Face Perception Test’, ‘venue’: ‘Cognitive Neuropsychology’, ‘venue_type’: ‘journal’, ‘journal’: ‘Cognitive Neuropsychology’, ‘volume’: ‘26’, ‘issue’: ‘5’, ‘pages’: ‘423-455’, ‘doi’: ‘10.1080/02643290903343149’, ‘openalex_id’: None, ‘pmid’: None, ‘citation_string’: ‘Bowles, D. C., McKone, E., Dawel, A., Duchaine, B., Palermo, R., Schmalzl, L., … & Yovel, G. (2009). Diagnosing prosopagnosia: Effects of ageing, sex, and participant-stimulus ethnic match on the Cambridge Face Memory Test and Cambridge Face Perception Test. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 26(5), 423–455.’, ‘url’: ‘https://doi.org/10.1080/02643290903343149’, ‘source’: ‘crossref’, ‘confidence’: ‘high’, ‘verified_on’: ‘2026-04-20’}
{‘authors’: ‘Russell, R., Duchaine, B., & Nakayama, K.’, ‘year’: 2009, ‘title’: ‘Super-recognizers: People with extraordinary face recognition ability’, ‘venue’: ‘Psychonomic Bulletin & Review’, ‘venue_type’: ‘journal’, ‘journal’: ‘Psychonomic Bulletin & Review’, ‘volume’: ‘16’, ‘issue’: ‘2’, ‘pages’: ‘252-257’, ‘doi’: ‘10.3758/pbr.16.2.252’, ‘openalex_id’: None, ‘pmid’: None, ‘citation_string’: ‘Russell, R., Duchaine, B., & Nakayama, K. (2009). Super-recognizers: People with extraordinary face recognition ability. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 16(2), 252–257.’, ‘url’: ‘https://doi.org/10.3758/pbr.16.2.252’, ‘source’: ‘crossref’, ‘confidence’: ‘high’, ‘verified_on’: ‘2026-04-20’}
{‘authors’: ‘Wilmer, J. B., Germine, L., Chabris, C. F., Chatterjee, G., Williams, M., Loken, E., Nakayama, K., & Duchaine, B.’, ‘year’: 2010, ‘title’: ‘Human face recognition ability is specific and highly heritable’, ‘venue’: ‘Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences’, ‘venue_type’: ‘journal’, ‘journal’: ‘Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences’, ‘volume’: ‘107’, ‘issue’: ‘11’, ‘pages’: ‘5238-5241’, ‘doi’: ‘10.1073/pnas.0913053107’, ‘openalex_id’: None, ‘pmid’: None, ‘citation_string’: ‘Wilmer, J. B., Germine, L., Chabris, C. F., Chatterjee, G., Williams, M., Loken, E., … & Duchaine, B. (2010). Human face recognition ability is specific and highly heritable. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(11), 5238–5241.’, ‘url’: ‘https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0913053107’, ‘source’: ‘crossref’, ‘confidence’: ‘high’, ‘verified_on’: ‘2026-04-20’}