The impact of Relative Prevalence on dual-target search for threat items from airport X-ray screening.
The probability of target presentation in visual search tasks influences target detection performance: this is known as the prevalence effect (Wolfe et al., 2005). Additionally, searching for several targets simultaneously reduces search performance: this is known as the dual-target cost (DTC: Menneer et al., 2007). The interaction between the DTC and prevalence effect was investigated in a single study by presenting one target in dual-target search at a higher level of prevalence than the other target (Target A: 45% Prevalence; Target B: 5% Prevalence). An overall DTC was found for both RTs and response accuracy. Furthermore, there was an effect of target prevalence in dual-target search, suggesting that, when one target is presented at a higher level of prevalence than the other, both the dual-target cost and the prevalence effect contribute to decrements in performance. The implications for airport X-ray screening are discussed.
School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton, Hampshire, United Kingdom. hayward.godwin@soton.ac.uk
Hayward J
HJ
Godwin
Tamaryn
T
Menneer
Kyle R
KR
Cave
Shaun
S
Helman
Rachael L
RL
Way
Nick
N
Donnelly
D000328:Adult; D000401:Aircraft; D001288:Attention; D004193:Discrimination Learning; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D011337:Probability Learning; D011930:Reaction Time; D012637:Security Measures; D017603:Signal Detection, Psychological; D023481:Terrorism / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*; D014963:X-Ray Intensifying Screens; D014965:X-Rays; D055815:Young Adult