The failure to notice unexpected objects or events when attention is focused elsewhere is now known as inattentional blindness. This module describes the history and status of research on inattentiona...The failure to notice unexpected objects or events when attention is focused elsewhere is now known as inattentional blindness. This module describes the history and status of research on inattentional blindness, discusses the reasons why we find these results to be counterintuitive, and the implications of failures of awareness for how we see and act in our world.
In the 1970s, psychologist Ulric Neisser developed a visual task to study inattentional blindness, revealing that when focused on a specific task, individuals often fail to notice unexpected events oc...In the 1970s, psychologist Ulric Neisser developed a visual task to study inattentional blindness, revealing that when focused on a specific task, individuals often fail to notice unexpected events occurring right in front of them. This phenomenon was demonstrated in experiments where participants missed unusual occurrences, like a woman with an umbrella or a person in a gorilla suit, while counting passes in a basketball game video.
