Implications of the Invisible Gorilla

John Fetterman and L. Daniel Maxim

Outline of presentation• Implications of the Invisible Gorilla

and related research• Importance in LE and investigation

context• Literature samples and teasers• The way forward

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The Invisible Gorilla• Contents of the book (and the

seminal experiments conducted by the authors) interesting and revealing in terms of knowledge of the fallibility of our perceptions

• Experiments humorous and (to many) the results unexpected

• But the lecture was far more than entertaining—some implications are covered here

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The Gorilla and related experiments• Help us understand “inattentional

blindness” and “change blindness”• Results have important implications

for need for situational awareness (SA) in several fields including– Accident causation and role of human

factors– Need for high levels of SA for safety of

law enforcement officers• Let’s capitalize on this knowledge! 4

One example: two pilot cockpits

• NASA studies of “heads up” displays in cockpits indicated that pilots could fail to spot aircraft on active runway—not because of display (designed to be an improvement) but because of pilot’s inattentional blindness and focus on flying the aircraft 5

Two pilot cockpits• Scheduled airliners typically use two

pilots:– The flying pilot (FP) who focuses on

reading the gauges and manipulating the controls

– The non-flying pilot (NFP) who handles communications, reads checklists, programs the flight computer, and monitors the “big picture”

– The NFP maintains a lookout for invisible Gorillas 6

But what about single pilot operations?• The invisible Gorilla offers lessons

here as well– Don’t let task load increase the likelihood

of inattentional blindness—manage workload

– Identify the key Gorillas (e.g., runway incursions, distractions) as key things that “need to be seen:” include in training

– Use multiple inputs (e.g., communications) to develop accurate situational awareness

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The invisible Gorilla• Vividly highlights the importance of

maintaining SA• SA can be learned!

– Identifying key elements of information necessary to maintain the big picture

– Identifying barriers to good SA– Tips to identify when SA has been lost

and ways to regain SA

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Uses of this research for NASBLA• Helping to develop an improved

understanding of recreational boating accidents (why, not what or how explanations): findings also have implications for– Accident investigation,– LE training, and– Design of improved training content for

recreational boaters9

This breakout session addresses• Importance of this topic for training

of LE personnel• Opportunities for NASBLA to develop

improved training for LE personnel– Better SA– Limitations of eyewitness testimony– Investigation biases

• Concepts explored in following slides10

IMPORTANCE IN LE CONTEXT

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Perception literature implications• Need to improve SA of LE personnel

for increased safety and efficiency• Need to understand limitations of self

awareness• Need to understand limitations of

memory and eyewitness testimony and ways to correct for these

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Relevant factoids• Each year approximately 50 LE

officers murdered and another 50 killed in line of duty

• Each year approximately 60,000 assaulted in line of duty

• Surprising facts about victims– Not rookies– Often killed because of lack of SA– Victims often overestimate ability to

read cues 13

It’s not just rookies (FBI data)

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Under 2525-3031-3536-4041-4546-5051-5556-60

Over 60NR

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

Killed 2000 to 2009

Average age of victims 38 years

In nearly half of the deaths the officer did not attempt to use own weapon

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Cases 2000 to 2009

Fired own weaponAttempted to use weaponDid not use or at-tempt to use weaponUnknown

Violent Encounters• Study (2006) by Pinizzotto, Davis,

and Miller (USDOJ, FBI, National Institute of Justice), hereinafter “PDM”

• Designed to identify ways to improve safety-training techniques

• Identified perceptual distortions associated with violent encounters and implications for safety training

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Officer characteristics (PDM)• Hard working,• Friendly and well liked,• Failed to follow all the rules,

especially in regard to arrests, confrontations with prisoners, traffic stops, and waiting for backup, and

• Felt that they could “read” others/situations and dropped their guard as a result

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LITERATURE SAMPLES

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The psychology/human factors literature is worth studying• The literature offers important

insights into human behavior/perceptions and options for improvement– Iceberg models– SA developments– Modern research into memory

limitations– Biases in investigation

• Some examples shown following 19

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Heinrich ratio: Iceberg model

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Fatal Accident 1

Non-fatal accidents 10

Reportable incidents 30

Unsafe acts 600

Dunning-Kruger effect

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Situational awareness

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SA literature• Extensive literature

on SA, determinants of SA, and ways to increase SA

• Applications in aviation, marine, medicine, LE, and various industries (e.g., nuclear power plants) 23

SA literature• Extremely varied

literature• Barriers to SA now

understood (e.g., workload, time pressures, communications, distractions, fatigue)

• Training techniques developed for improved SA

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We know more about memory

• We know much more about memory and limitations (errors of commission and omission)

• Are vivid “flashbulb” memories reliable?

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We know more about memory

• We know much more about the accuracy of eyewitness testimony, biases, and ways to compensate

• Are confident witnesses more reliable?

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We know much more about biases

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Hindsight bias

Confirmation bias

FundamentalAttribution

Error

Outcomebias

“One of us”bias

Confirmation bias

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THE WAY FORWARD

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Opportunity• Now is an opportune time to put

together a course for investigators and LE personnel

• Course would distill the relevant literature and show how this has practical applications for NASBLA (and other LE) personnel

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Pilot 8-hour course• Well grounded in literature• Excellent videos and handout

materials• Taught by professionals in various

fields• Lead instructors, John Fetterman and

Dr. L. Daniel Maxim (in view of DK effect they don’t claim to be competent!)

• Pilot version (beta test) could be put together in four-six months

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Next steps• Form working group (NASBLA, USCG)

to be used as “sounding board” or oversight panel

• Write grant application to cover course development and initial presentation

• Consult with others (e.g., DOJ) who might participate as guest lecturers

• Develop and present course• Write “after action” report

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Questions, comments, time for a

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