Title:Why smiling for a passport photo could prevent identity fraud

Travellers should be encouraged to smile on their passports to prevent identity fraud, a new study suggests.

一项新研究表明，应鼓励游客在照护照照片时微笑，以防止身份欺诈。

Previous research at the University of York showed that it is difficult for people to match a pair of unfamiliar faces in photographs, which presents significant issues for authorities trying to spot false passports.

纽约大学以前的研究显示，人们很难在照片中匹配一对陌生的面孔，这对于当局识别假护照来说是个问题。

To improve accuracy rates, the university's Department of Psychology, looked into the possibility that a smiling image of a person could be more easily matched to a different image of that same individual, as well as more easily distinguished from an image of a similar- looking identity.

为提高精确率，大学的心理学系研究了一个人微笑的形象可以较容易地与同一个人的不同形象相匹配的可能性，而且更容易区别于类似形象。

The team asked 40 people to match 60 unfamiliar pairs of images when people's facial expressions were netural, such as is asked for in passport photos and smiling.

该小组要求40人匹配60组陌生的图片，其中人的表情一样，比如在护照照片里微笑。

Analysis of the results from study one found a 9 per cent improvement in performance for smiling images when comparing two images of the same person and a 7 per cent improvement when comparing images of two different, but similarly looking, people.

通过对调研结果的分析，发现将两个相同人的图像进行比较和7%改进将两个不同但外观相似的人的图像进行比较时，微笑图像的效果改善了9%。

Research leader Dr Mila Mileva said:  "Our research suggests that replacing the neutral expression we usually use when taking identification photographs with an open mouth smile, can make face matching an easier decision.

研究领导者Mila Mileva博士说：“我们的研究表明，我们用张开嘴微笑来代替身份识别照片时所用的中性表情，可以使脸部更易做出抉择。

"We also had success in showing that an open mouth smile can help people to tell two similarly looking, but different people apart which is critical when checking photo identification.

“我们也成功地显示出张开嘴微笑可以帮助人们分辨出两种类似的样子，但区分不同的人，这对于检查照片的身份识别至关重要。

"Identity fraud is a real problem on many levels, so it is important that we do more research in this area to see how we can improve methods of identification."

"身份欺诈在许多层面上是一个真正的问题，因此，我们在这一领域开展更多的研究，看看我们如何能够改进识别方法，这一点非常重要。

The research is published in the British Journal of Psychology.

这项研究发表在英国心理学杂志上。