Profile

Biography

Mike has held positions at the universities of Nottingham, Stirling, Glasgow and Aberdeen. His research interests include cognitive science, and particularly face recognition.

• BSc, Joint Hons. Mathematics and Psychology, University of Nottingham 1980
• PhD Psychology, University of Nottingham, 1983

Career

• 2015-present, Professor of Psychology, University of York
• 2011-2015, Professor of Psychology, University of Aberdeen
• 1994-2011, Professor of Psychology, University of Glasgow
• 1992-1994, Lecturer in Psychology, University of Stirling
• 1984-1992, Lecturer in Psychology, University of Nottingham

Research

Overview

My research focuses on face perception. I am particularly interested in identification – we encounter faces over a huge range of visual conditions, and yet we can recognise the people we know quickly and easily.  The research aims to provide insights into fundamental aspects of human perception. It also has application in computer-based face recognition, and in forensic settings.

Projects

My current projects concern the role of variability in face recognition:  how does our perceptual system use different images of the same person to derive stable representations?  Together with my group and my collaborators, I use experimental and computational modelling aproaches to address this problem.  We also collaborate with security agencies in the UK and internationally on issues related to personal identificiation.

Research group(s)

Facevar

Grants

• ESRC Professorial Fellowship:  Nov 2012 – Oct 2016
• ERC Advanced Grant:  June 2013 – May 2018

Collaborators

• York University:  Rob Jenkins, Andy Young, Tim Andrews
• University of Jena:  Stefan Schweinberger,  Juergen Kaufmann
• University of New South Wales:  Richard Kemp, David White

Publications

Selected publications

• Kramer, R.S.S., Young, A.W., Day, M., & Burton, A.M. (2017). Robust social categorization emerges from learning the identities of very few faces. Psychological Review, 124(2), 115-129.
• Burton, A.M., Kramer, R.S.S., Ritchie, K.L., & Jenkins, R. (2016).  Identity from variation: Representation of faces derived from multiple instances. Cognitive Science, 40(1), 202-223.
• Burton, A.M., Schweinberger, S.R., Jenkins, R., & Kaufmann, J.M. (2015). Arguments against a configural processing account of familiar face recognition. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 10(4), 482–496. 
• White, D., Kemp, R. I., Jenkins, R., Matheson, M., & Burton, A. M. (2014). Passport Officers’ Errors in Face Matching. PLoS ONE, 9(8), e103510.
• Burton, A. M (2013) Why has research in face recognition progressed so slowly? The importance of variability. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 66, 1467-1485.

Full publications list

• Google Scholar
• ResearcherID

External activities

Memberships

• Fellow of the British Academy, Elected 2017
• Experimental Psychology Society - President 2016-2017, Honorary Secretary 1996-1999
• Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh,  Elected 2006
• REF2014 - Panel Member: Psychology, Psychiatry & Neuroscience (Panel 4)
• British Association for the Advancement of Science - President of the Psychology Section 2000-2001

Editorial duties

• Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology - Editor 2006-2009
• Perception - Editorial Board 2009-2017
• Psychological Science - Editorial Board 2017-present