The emergence of perceptual expertise with fingerprints over time

Abstract

Can early individual differences in performance predict later expertise in the applied domain of fingerprint identification? We tracked 24 new trainees over the course of a year as they accumulated experience working in a fingerprint unit. We tested their performance every three months on four measures of fingerprint expertise. Trainees significantly improved on all four measures, with the majority of learning occurring within the first three months. When we indexed trainees’ performance, by averaging across their percent correct scores on all four measures of expertise, we found early indexed performance was significantly and positively related to their indexed performance three, six, nine, and 12 months later. These findings provide a rich example of how perceptual expertise can emerge within an applied domain, and evidence that early individual differences on a composite measure of performance can be diagnostic of later expertise.