How t(w)o divide a task: Labor division in collaborative visual search
Mon-A8-Talk II-04
Presented by: Basil Wahn
When looking for a certain object or person, individuals often engage in collaborative visual search, i.e., they search together by coordinating their behavior. For instance, when parents are looking for their child on a busy playground, they might search collaboratively by dividing the search area. This type of labor division in collaborative visual search could be beneficial not only in daily life, but also in professional life (e.g., at airport security screening, lifeguarding, or diagnostic radiology). To better understand the mechanisms underlying this type of collaborative behavior, as well as its benefits and costs, researchers have studied visual search scenarios in the laboratory. The aim of this talk is to provide a brief overview of the results of these studies. Are individuals faster if they search together compared to alone? And if so, should they simply search in parallel, or will they benefit from agreeing on a specific labor division? How should they divide the search space, and how to communicate this division? Should a consensus be reached (target present or absent?) before ending the search? In this talk, I address these questions and further key questions, focusing on the aspect of labor division.
Keywords: social cognition, joint action, coordination, collaborative visual search, labor division