SERIAL POSITION EFFECTS IN CHILDRENS ROUTE REVERSAL ERRORS - IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICE SEARCH OPERATIONS

We illustrate how descriptions of way-finding behavior can be applied to the problem of searching for a lost child. We first establish a pat tern of errors that children make when reversing a route. Eight- and 1 2-year-olds were escorted on a circular tour of a campus and then were asked to retrace the route from the end point to the beginning. Error s at intersections indicated that the original paths were more likely to lie remembered at the beginning and end of the route than in the mi ddle. Next, the obtained serial position effects were incorporated in an algorithm to estimate the probability that a child is within an are a designated for search. The algorithm enhances the performance of a n ovice search manager in a simulation of an urban police search.