Assessing visual search performance differences between Transportation Security Administration Officers and nonprofessional visual searchers

Abstract

Some visual searches depend upon accuracy (e.g., radiology, airport security screening), and it is important for both theoretical and applied reasons to understand what factors best predict performance. The current study administered a visual search task to both professional (Transportation Security Administration Officers) and nonprofessional (members of Duke University) searchers to examine group differences in which factors predict accuracy. Search speed—time taken to terminate search—was the primary predictor for nonprofessional searchers (accounting for 59% of their accuracy variability) and for the least experienced professional searchers (37% of variability). In contrast, consistency—how similarly (in terms of search speed) an individual spent searching from trial to trial—was the primary predictor for the most experienced professional visual searchers (39% of variability). These results inform cognitive theory by illuminating factors that differentially affect search performance between participants, and real-world issues by identifying search behaviours (consistency in particular) important to experienced professional searchers.