See No Evil: Cognitive Challenges of Security Surveillance and Monitoring

Helen M. Hodgetts*, François Vachon, Cindy Chamberland, Sébastien Tremblay

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

57 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

While the development of intelligent technologies in security surveillance can augment human capabilities, they do not replace the role of the operator entirely; as such, when developing surveillance support it is critical that limitations to the cognitive system are taken into account. The current article reviews the cognitive challenges associated with the task of a CCTV operator: visual search and cognitive/perceptual overload, attentional failures, vulnerability to distraction, and decision-making in a dynamically evolving environment. While not directly applied to surveillance issues, we suggest that the NSEEV (noticing – salience, effort, expectancy, value) model of attention could provide a useful theoretical basis for understanding the challenges faced in detection and monitoring tasks. Having identified cognitive limitations of the human operator, this review sets out a research agenda for further understanding the cognitive functioning related to surveillance, and highlights the need to consider the human element at the design stage when developing technological solutions to security surveillance.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)230-243
Number of pages14
JournalJournal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition
Volume6
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 30 May 2017

Keywords

  • Attentional failures
  • Distraction
  • Dynamic decision-making
  • Information overload
  • Visual search

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