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The Resident-intruder Paradigm: A Standardized Test for Aggression, Violence and Social Stress
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The quick and the dead: A paradigm for studying friendly fire.
Annabelle Munnik1, Katharina Näswall1, Graeme Woodward1
1University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Applied Ergonomics
|January 29, 2020
Summary
Failures in response inhibition, measured by the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART), may contribute to accidental shootings. Increased cognitive load worsened performance in simulated firearm scenarios.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Human Factors Engineering
- Forensic Psychology
Background:
- The Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) is a Go-No-Go task assessing response inhibition.
- Researchers hypothesize SART's inhibition demands may relate to firearm accidents.
- Accidental shootings may stem from failures in cognitive control mechanisms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of response inhibition in simulated firearm scenarios.
- To examine the impact of cognitive load on performance during simulated threat engagement.
- To provide evidence for cognitive factors contributing to accidental firearm incidents.
Main Methods:
- Participants performed simulated threat engagement using a nonlethal weapon.
- Tasks included a target-rich (SART-like) and target-sparse condition.
- Dual-tasking with a verbal recall task manipulated cognitive load.
Main Results:
- Performance deficits were observed under high cognitive load conditions.
- Results support the link between response inhibition failures and accidental shootings.
- Target-sparse tasks, requiring more inhibition, showed greater performance decrements.
Conclusions:
- Failures in response inhibition are implicated in accidental firearm incidents.
- Increased cognitive load negatively impacts performance in high-stakes scenarios.
- Further research is needed on response inhibition in realistic firearm contexts.
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