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Self-rated attention to detail predicts threat detection performance in security X-ray images

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Abstract

Visual checks of thousands of X-ray images are carried out daily to detect and confiscate items that may compromise public security. Although technological advances are improving detection accuracy, screener-specific factors are also likely to matter. Here we investigated whether individual differences in self-rated attention to detail predicted performance on a simulated X-ray task with real small-vehicle images. An established measure of attention to detail was used to screen 124 naïve adults; of these 29 high (n=15) and low (n=14) scoring individuals completed a detection task on unseen X-ray images. High scorers showed better performance than low scorers. The advantage emerged in both sensitivity (higher d′) and localization, with high scorers unaffected by task-irrelevant correspondence between vehicle direction and response location. These findings suggest that greater attention to detail is associated with enhanced detection ability, and that recruitment processes for security officers may be improved by assessing Attention to Detail traits.

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Notes

  1. Thorough physical searching of a vehicle can take many hours, and the small-vehicle inspection systems allow security personnel a detailed view of the inside of the whole vehicle in a single scan. The operator is able to control the unit and view the images from a remote laptop imaging station. Such system can reach a throughput of 45 vehicles per hour (for typical 5-metres long vehicles). Considering 1 min on average for the scanning itself and a few regular recalibrations of the image capture system, this would imply between 10 and 15 s for visual screening of the loaded image of each vehicle, when the screening occurs online and no adjustments are necessary to the scanning device during a session.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the invaluable help of Gloria Laycock and the staff at the Jill Dando Institute; John Anglesea and Kenny Watson at 3D-Xray, Dick Lacey, Tom Eagleton, George Vardulakis and their colleagues at CAST, without whose help this study would have not been possible or would have missed important insights; and Nick Tilley, Hervé Borrion, Caroline Reid, Robert Speller, Aiden Sidebottom and the pioneer cohort of SECReT students at UCL, in particular, Lusine Tarkhanyan, Ireneos Drakos, Theo Mourouzis and Tim Nissen. We are very grateful to Martin H. Fischer for his insightful comments on a previous version of the manuscript. This research was funded by EPSRC (Grant number EP/G037264/1). The authors declare the absence of any conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Security and Crime Science, University College London, 35 Tavistock Square, London, WC1H 9EZ, UK

    Elena Rusconi

  2. Department of Neurosciences, Section of Physiology, University of Parma, Via Volturno 39/E, Parma, I-43100, Italy

    Elena Rusconi

  3. Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, 26 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AP, UK

    Eamon McCrory & Essi Viding

  4. Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, 17 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3AR, UK

    Essi Viding

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  1. Elena Rusconi
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  2. Eamon McCrory
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  3. Essi Viding
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elena Rusconi.

Appendix

Appendix

List of X-rayed vehicles:

Ford Focus; Mazda 626; Mitsubishi PickUp; Nissan Almera; Seat Leon; Rover 100; Volvo S80; Vauxhall Corsa; Toyota Corolla; Renault Clio; Triumph Sprint; Ford Fiesta; Skoda Fabia; Chevrolet Lancetti; Ford Coguar; Honda Accord; Nissan Primera; Honda CR-V; Discovery LPG; Ford KA; Toyota Starlet; Mercedes A170; NTSU Landrover; Rover 45; Volkswagen Passat; Renault Laguna; Volkswagen Golf GTi; Peugeot 106; Saab 93; Volkswagen Polo; Saab 9000; Peugeot 306; Saab 93; BMW 525; Peugeot 207; Peugeot 206; Alfa Romeo 156; Ford Escort; Renault Megane; Astra Estate.

List of X-rayed threats:

Glock; Colt; Kalashnikov; pipe bomb; bowie knife (number and type of threats were variable across vehicles, with threat-present items containing a minimum of one and a maximum of three weapons; our detection task required a ‘yes’ response when one threat was detected – that is, a self-terminating visual search).

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Rusconi, E., McCrory, E. & Viding, E. Self-rated attention to detail predicts threat detection performance in security X-ray images. Secur J 25, 356–371 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1057/sj.2011.27

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