Abstract
A number of real-world search tasks (i.e. police search, detection of improvised explosive devices (IEDs)) require searchers to search exhaustively across open ground. In the present study, we simulated this problem by asking individuals (Experiments 1a and 1b) and dyads (Experiment 2) to search for coin targets pseudo-randomly located in a bounded area of open grassland terrain. In Experiment 1a, accuracy, search time, and the route used to search an area were measured. Participants tended to use an ‘S’-shaped pattern with a common width of search lane. Increased accuracy was associated with slower, but also variable, search speed, though only when participants moved along the length (as opposed to across the width) of the search area. Experiment 1b varied the number of targets available within the bounded search area and in doing so varied target prevalence and density. The results confirmed that the route taken in Experiment 1a generalizes across variations in target prevalence/density. In Experiment 2, accuracy, search time, and the search strategy used by dyads was measured. While dyads were more accurate than individuals, dyads that opted to conduct two independent searches were more accurate than those who opted to split the search space. The implications of these results for individuals and dyads when searching for targets in open space are discussed.
Highlights
What do we know about how exhaustively police search teams comb open ground for clues to a crime or how soldiers patrolling high-risk routes search for Improvised explosive device (IED)? The unfortunate answer is that, at present, we understand very little
We explore this issue by examining search for an unknown number of targets, which are distributed across an area of open space
Correlational tests were used to examine if there was a relationship between two variables, simple linear regressions were used to examine whether one variable predicted a second variable, t-tests were used to examine whether the mean scores of two participant groups differed and a Fisher’s exact test was used to test how likely it was that observed distributions were due to chance
Summary
What do we know about how exhaustively police search teams comb open ground for clues to a crime or how soldiers patrolling high-risk routes search for IEDs? The unfortunate answer is that, at present, we understand very little. The spatial scale is sufficiently different that small targets in open spaces are unlikely to be detected through pre-attentive or attentive vision alone Unlike terminating search following the detection of a single target (Tuddenham, 1962) or when the rewards of continuing foraging in one area are less than those that might follow from moving to a new area (Cain et al, 2012; Wolfe, 2013), searchers must attempt to search spatial locations exhaustively (by which we mean try their best to search as many possible target locations as they can). The present study is a first effort in trying to understand how exhaustive search is in these types of task. We explore this issue by examining search for an unknown number of targets, which are distributed across an area of open space
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
