Detection of Hostile Intent by Spatial Movements

Objective The ability of people to infer intentions from movement of other vessels was investigated. Across three levels of variability in movements in the path of computer-controlled ships, participants attempted to determine which entity was hostile. Background Detection of hostile intentions through spatial movements of vessels is important in an array of real-world scenarios. This experiment sought to determine baseline abilities of humans to do so. Methods Participants selected a discrete movement direction of their ship. Six other ships’ locations then updated. A single entity displayed one of two hostile behaviors: shadowing, which involved mirroring the participant’s vessel’s movements; and hunting, which involved closing in on the participant’s vessel. Trials allowed up to 35 moves before identifying the hostile ship and its behavior. Uncertainty was introduced through adding variability to ships’ movements such that their path was 0%, 25%, or 50% random. Results Even with no variability in the ships’ movements, accurate detection was low, identifying the hostile entity about 60% of the time. Variability in the paths decreased detection. Detection of hunting was strongly degraded by distance between ownship and the hostile ship, but shadowing was not. Strategies employing different directions of movement across the trial, but also featuring some runs of consecutive movements, facilitated detection. Conclusions Early identification of threats based on movement characteristics alone is likely to be difficult, but particularly so when adversaries employ some level of uncertainty to mask their intentions. These findings highlight the need to develop decision aids to support human performance.