Individual Differences in High-Stakes Security Decision-Making

Knight Research Scholars Program Project Individual Differences in High-Stakes Security Decision-Making

Learn about this research project, meet the faculty and student researchers, review participation expectations, and check current availability.

Project Availability

Team Size
5 team members
Open Spots
5 spots open
Affiliations
College of Sciences
Semester
Fall 2027
Team Leader
Faculty Mentor

  • Jacopo Baggio, PhD

Team Member Qualifications

Students with interests or experience in psychology, human factors, cybersecurity, intelligence, security studies, aviation, or related areas are preferred. Experience with participant recruitment, survey administration, interviews, literature reviews, or basic data analysis would be useful. Applicants who are involved with relevant student organizations, academic programs, laboratories, or professional networks and can assist with identifying potential participant pools are especially encouraged to apply.

Required: No specialized professional experience is required. Applicants should be reliable, willing to learn, and able to follow research protocols. Team members involved in human-subjects research will be required to complete the appropriate CITI training before participating in recruitment or data collection.

Description

This project examines why individuals with similar training, experience, procedures, and access to information can make different decisions in high-stakes security environments. Existing research has identified cognitive biases, stress, workload, expertise, and organizational factors as important influences on decision-making, but these factors do not fully explain variation between similarly situated individuals. The project will investigate the cognitive and human factors that may account for these differences, with particular attention to how individuals interpret information, verify automated or uncertain information, adapt under pressure, and recover from potential judgment errors. The research is expected to use a mixed-methods approach combining quantitative analysis with qualitative interviews or decision-based case analysis. The broader goal is to develop a clearer explanation of individual differences in security decision-making that can contribute to research on human factors, cognitive security, and organizational resilience.