The Role of Attention and Memory in Search for Missing Persons

We examined the role of memory and attention in a simulated search for a missing person. Participants saw a mock missing person alert. We offered a cash prize for sightings. Participants encountered the missing person during a separate distractor study. We manipulated attention by having some participants pay attention to the missing person. We manipulated strategic monitoring, which involves being in retrieval mode and searching for cues, by covertly reminding some participants to search for the missing person, while they were near the missing person. We manipulated the presence of the missing person and found an effect, ruling out that we only inflated participants’ response bias. Drawing participants’ attention to the missing person minimally affected sightings, and only when strategic monitoring did not occur. Strategic monitoring had a larger effect on sightings but did not cause a ceiling effect, suggesting a role for face recognition and other factors in determining sighting rates.