After spending 4 years working in a visual search research lab and working as a lifeguard at Walt Disney World for a semester, I became inspired to explore different common lifeguard visual search strategies to see if they are the most effective or not. I worked with Dr. Walter Boot at Florida State University on this project.

The thesis explored these issues using abstract laboratory search displays in which the search target will emulate the visual properties of active and passive drowning swimmers. It investigated different simulated drowning situations and whether different scanning strategies might be appropriate. The goal of this thesis was to help build an understanding of visual search strategies that would shape future studies involving lifeguards and ecologically valid stimuli. An eye tracker would have been used to collect data for this project.

You can view the project here.