Mental Rotation of Objects in an Airport Security Setting

Abstract

The role of mental rotation in the airport security screening task was examined. 13 participants were asked to detect a handgun which was shown embedded in an x-ray image similar to what a baggage screener would see. The weapon was shown to the participant in 8 different rotations for 2 different perspectives (facing right or left for each rotation). The results of the experiment produced the classic inverted V response time function curve. The data suggest that mental rotation can be applied to complex stimuli found in detection task such as the airport security domain.