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AIRPORT SECURITY: IS GETTING STOPPED THE WAY TO GO?
Publication: Journal of Organizational Behavior Management (Nov, 2009)
Article: A Preliminary Investigation of the Reinforcement Function of Signal Detections in Simulated Baggage Screening: Further Support for the Vigilance Reinforcement Hypothesis.
Authors: Lindsey C. Hogan; Matthew Bell; Ryan Olson
Reviewed By: Susan Rosengarten, Queens College, CUNY
We've all been there: Waiting in long lines for our luggage to pass through intense baggage screenings, setting off alarms as they detect a sharp metal object in our carry-on (which turns out to be a pair of tweezers), or having the expensive perfume we just bought at the airport gift shop confiscated because it exceeds the three-ounce limit. Yes, the airport can be quite an adventure, but no need to change your plans for a tropical vacation into a cross-country road trip.
In fact, according to a recent study by Hogan, Bell and Olson (2009), getting stopped at airport security may help keep you safer. They found that signal detection reinforces search behaviors and increases detection rates. In other words, when airport security officers detect unauthorized objects in your bags or on your person, it actually reinforces their searching behavior and makes them search more intensely and accurately to detect more unauthorized objects. It's when the line in front of you moves too quickly and security officers rarely find anything interesting that you should really be worried. When behaviors that were previously maintained through reinforcement are no longer reinforced, the behaviors weaken and eventually extinguish. In this case, watching baggage screens for long periods of time without detecting anything unusual actually weakens search behaviors and increases signal detection errors.
Practically speaking, what can we do to ensure our plane ride is the safest it can possibly be? For one, passengers should have a little more patience during baggage screenings. After all, security is just doing their job. Secondly, airport managers could systematically plant unauthorized objects for security officers to detect either in the luggage or on the screen in order to keep them alert and on their toes. Also, managers may consider setting goals for signal detection performance and rewarding officers who have high detection rates.
Hogan, L.C., Bell, M., & Olson, R. (2009). A Preliminary Investigation of the Reinforcement Function of Signal Detections in Simulated Baggage Screening: Further Support for the Vigilance Reinforcement Hypothesis. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 29, 6-18.