Superman’s Clark Kent Disguise WOULD Work, Scientists Claim

Though Clark Kent’s transformation into Superman is widely mocked, new research claims that small alterations can actually affect our ability to recognise people.

Even minor changes, like Superman donning a pair of glasses, could be enough to prevent someone from being recognised, according to researchers at the University of York.

The study could help police and border control staff to identify people and match them against their photo, say the researchers.

“The question of whether the inhabitants of Metropolis could be realistically deceived by Superman’s simple disguise has been rumbling since the comic books first arrived on the stands, but the question becomes a serious one when applied to real-world security issues,” said Dr Robin Kramer, from the University of York’s Department of Psychology.

“When a security guard checks a passport photo against the person standing in front of them, they do not have the luxury of familiarity with that face, as Lois does with Superman/Clark Kent.

“This is something we wanted to investigate further, because we know from previous studies that people are relatively poor at matching faces in various guises when the person is unfamiliar to them”.

Participants in the study were shown a number faces in ‘natural’ poses and asked to decide whether each pair of images showed the same person or not.

The images came in three categories - pairs of faces that wore glasses, images where neither wore glasses, and images where only one image wore glasses.

Where both faces wore glasses or where neither wore glasses, the participants scored around 80 per cent accuracy in identifying them as the same person.

However, where only one of the faces was wearing glasses, the accuracy went down by a statistically significant 6 per cent, suggesting that the small change did actually hinder people’s ability to match faces.

"We hope that this research can be used by legal authorities to help inform future policies on identification for security purposes, particularly in the UK where individuals who normally wear glasses are required to remove them for their identification cards,” said co-author Dr Kay Ritchie, from the University of York.

The research was published in the journal Applied Cognitive Psychology.

Image credit: Sipa Press/REX/Shutterstock & Warner Br/Everett/REX/Shutterstock