title: Performing under pressure: gaze control, decision making and shooting performance of elite and rookie police officers.
abstract: Gaze of elite (E) and rookie (R) officers were analyzed as they faced a potentially lethal encounter that required use of a handgun, or inhibition of the shot when a cell phone was drawn. The E shot more accurately than the R (E 74.60%; R 53.80%) and made fewer decisions errors in the cell condition when 18.50% of E and 61.50% of R fired at the assailant. E and R did not differ in duration of the draw/aim/fire phases, but the R's motor onsets were later, during the final second compared to the E's final 2.5 s. Across the final six fixations the E increased the percent of fixations on the assailant's weapon/cell to 71% and to 86% on hits, compared to a high of 34% for the R. Before firing, the R made a rapid saccade to their own weapon on 84% of trials leading to a failure to fixate the assailant on 50% of trials as they fired. Compared to the R, the E had a longer quiet eye duration on the assailant's weapon/cell prior to firing. The results provide new insights into officer weapon focus, firearms training and the role of optimal gaze control when under extreme pressure.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Canada. vickers@ucalgary.ca
authors.forename: Joan N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Vickers
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lewinski
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D003415:Crime / Q000523:psychology; D003463:Cues; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D005389:Firearms; D005403:Fixation, Ocular; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009949:Orientation; D016495:Police / Q000193:education; D011214:Practice, Psychological; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011930:Reaction Time; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology*; D014948:Wounds, Gunshot / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology