Looking for something you ’re sure you wo n’t happen ? Even if the item you seek is faithful by , a doubtful attitude reduces your chances of finding it , claims a new study fund by the US Department of Homeland Security .
research worker simulated the conditions of an drome protection checkpoint and instructed matter to search for weapon . LiveSciencereports that the sameness of the search and increase rarity of the weapons decrease subjects ’ attention spans :
They asked subject in the science laboratory to count at X - ray scan of checked baggage , as if they were airport screeners . In one trial , 50 percent of the scans showed a hitman or tongue in the bag . In this test , subject did clean well , only miss the weapon about 7 percent of the time .
In another trial , the guns and tongue appeared much more infrequently – in only 2 per centum of bags . This prison term , guinea pig miss the weapon 30 percent of the time . In other row , their accuracy went down sharp when the detail they were searching for was less predominant .
“ The probability of determine something affects how quickly you desert the hunt , ” Wolfe told LiveScience . “ If you ’re looking for the can opener in that kitchen draftsman that ’s full of gadgets , and you know it ’s probably there , you ’re going to spend a lot of time searching for that can opener . ”
But if someone suggests you search for something rarefied in the kitchen draftsman , such as worthful Civil War - epoch atomic number 47 , he said , you ’re likely to give up the James Henry Leigh Hunt quickly , because you lack confidence that you ’ll retrieve it .
According to researchers , a tendency to ignore improbable find is the answer of evolutionary adaptation . So while this trait was evolutionarily advantageous for our mammoth - hunting ancestors , it ’s a tail deal for the TSA .
Luckily , now we know that the power of convinced thinking can win the war on terror .
The full study is available atCurrent Biology .
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