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When do I quit? The search termination problem in visual search

Jeremy M Wolfe1

  • 1Harvard Medical School and Brigham & Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA. wolfe@search.bwh.harvard.edu

Nebraska Symposium on Motivation. Nebraska Symposium on Motivation
|February 27, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Deciding when to stop searching is complex, especially when targets are unknown or not found. This review explores theories on search termination in visual search tasks.

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Visual Perception
  • Human Factors

Background:

  • Visual search involves identifying targets amidst distractors.
  • Research predominantly focuses on target detection, not search termination.
  • Quitting criteria are unclear when targets are absent or numerous.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the evolution of theories on search termination.
  • To present a current theoretical framework for deciding when to stop searching.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of visual search and decision-making research.
  • Theoretical analysis of search termination factors.
  • Synthesis of existing and proposed models.

Main Results:

  • Identified key factors influencing search termination decisions.
  • Highlighted the complexity of quitting criteria in various search scenarios.
  • Outlined a framework for understanding search termination.

Conclusions:

  • Search termination is a critical, yet understudied, aspect of visual search.
  • Understanding quitting time is essential for optimizing search efficiency and safety.
  • Further research is needed to refine models of search termination.

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