Mike Burton
Professor

Profile

Biography

Mike has held positions at universities across the UK. 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
- Head of Psychology, University of York 2017-2020
2011-2015, Professor of Psychology, University of Aberdeen
1994-2011, Professor of Psychology, University of Glasgow
- Head of Psychology, University of Glasgow 1996-1999
- Head of Psychology, University of Glasgow 2008-2011
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.

Grants

ESRC Professorial Fellowship: 2012 – 2016
ERC Advanced Grant: 2013 – 2018
ESRC Grant 'Putting the individual into face recognition: Bridging theory and application', with Holger Wiese, Durham University: 2023-2026
ESRC Grant 'High-fidelity avatars for behaviour and cognition research', with Markus Bindemann, Univeristy of Kent, 2023-2026

Collaborators

York University: Rob Jenkins, Andy Young, Tim Andrews, Cade McCall
Kent University: Markus Bindemann
Durham University: Holger Wiese
University of Jena: Stefan Schweinberger, Gyula Kovács
University of New South Wales: David White, Richard Kemp

Publications

Selected publications

Trifonova, I. V., McCall, C., Fysh, M. C., Bindemann, M., & Burton, A. M. (2024). First impressions from faces in dynamic approach–avoidance contexts. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 50(6), 570-586.
Wiese, H., Schipper, M., Popova, T., Burton, A. M., & Young, A. W. (2023). Personal familiarity of faces, animals, objects, and scenes: Distinct perceptual and overlapping conceptual representations. Cognition, 241, 105625.
White, D., & Burton, A. M. (2022). Individual differences and the multidimensional nature of face perception. Nature Reviews Psychology, 1(5), 287-300.
Lavan, N., Mileva, M., Burton, A. M., Young, A. W., & McGettigan, C. (2021). Trait evaluations of faces and voices: Comparing within- and between-person variability. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 150(9), 1854-1869.
Mileva, M., Young, A. W., Jenkins, R., & Burton, A. M. (2020). Facial identity across the lifespan. Cognitive Psychology, 116.
Mileva, M., & Burton, A. M. (2019). Face search in CCTV surveillance. Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, 4(37), 1–21.
Kramer, R.S.S., Young, A.W., & Burton, A.M. (2018). Understanding face familiarity. Cognition, 172, 46-58.
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.

Full publications list

See Google Scholar or the York Research Database for publication list.

External activities

Memberships

Fellow of the British Academy, Elected 2017
Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, Elected 2019
Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Elected 2006
Experimental Psychology Society - President 2016-2017, Honorary Secretary 1996-1999
British Association for the Advancement of Science - President of the Psychology Section 2000-2001
REF2014 and REF2021 - Panel Member: Psychology, Psychiatry & Neuroscience (Panel 4)

Editorial duties

Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology - Editor 2006-2009
Perception - Editorial Board 2009-2017
Psychological Science - Editorial Board 2017-2020

Mike Burton Professor