Possible causes Inattentional blindness

1 possible causes

1.1 conspicuity
1.2 mental workload , working memory
1.3 expectation
1.4 capacity

possible causes

the research has been done on inattentional blindness suggests there 4 possible causes phenomenon. these include: conspicuity, mental workload, expectations, , capacity.

conspicuity

conspicuity refers object s ability catch person s attention. when conspicuous visible. there 2 factors determine conspicuity: sensory conspicuity , cognitive conspicuity. sensory conspicuity factors physical properties object has. if item has bright colors, flashing lights, high contrast environment, or other attention-grabbing physical properties can attract person s attention easier. example, people tend notice objects bright colors or crazy patterns before notice other objects. cognitive conspicuity factors pertain objects familiar someone. people tend notice objects faster if have meaning lives. example, when person hears his/her name, attention drawn person said it. cocktail party effect describes cognitive conspicuity factor well. when object isn t conspicuous, easier inattentionally blind it. people tend notice items if capture attention in way. if object isn t visually prominent or relevant, there higher chance person miss it.

mental workload , working memory

mental workload person s cognitive resources. amount of person s workload can interfere processing of other stimuli. when person focuses lot of attention on 1 stimulus, he/she focuses less attention on other stimuli. example, talking on phone while driving – attention focused on phone conversation, there less attention focused on driving. mental workload thinking tasks need done tending baby in backseat. when people have of attention focused on 1 thing, more vulnerable inattentional blindness. however, opposite true well. when person has small mental workload – he/she doing everyday task – task becomes automatic. automatic processing can lessen 1 s mental workload, can lead person missing unexpected stimuli.

working memory contributes inattentional blindness. cognitive psychologists have examined relationship between working memory , inattention, evidence inconclusive. rate of phenomenon can impacted number of factors. researchers have found evidence number of components may play role. these include features of object , current task, individual s attention lies relative object, , mental workload mentioned above. researchers kreitz, furley, , memmery in 2015, asserted working memory capacity not indicator of susceptibility inattentional blindness. instead, combination of stimulus attention directed individual s personal expectations. there individual differences can play role, argue disparities separate capacity working memory. on other hand, there researchers consider differences between individuals , working memory capacity stronger determinant of inattentional blindness. seegmiller, watson, , strayer in 2011 example, studied individual differences in working memory capacity , how overall impacted attention on given task. utilized same invisible gorilla video simons , chabris did (as mentioned above), additionally had participants complete mathematics test measure capacity. results, able find high correlation between individual s working memory capacity , susceptibility inattentional blindness. calculated have lower capacity, more experienced blindness.

in follow study same year, kreitz , team looked @ cognitive abilities between individuals. team employed variety of tasks, both static , dynamic, compare participants had cognitive capacity measured beforehand. though included different tasks test individuals, there not measurable relationship between cognitive abilities of participant , attention performance. did, however, find evidence support idea noticing stimuli better in demonstrating expertise in task subject (referenced above). overall, kreitz concluded cognitive/working memory capacity might not accurate measure inattentional blindness. instead, determined rate of noticing might both circumstantial , dependent on requirements of task.

there researchers subscribe idea working memory not play measurable role in attentional blindness. different study kreitz , team finding individual differences in cognitive abilities might not relative noticing rates. bredemeier , simons conducted 2 studies in 2012. first involved identifying location of letters counting how many times group of shapes touched 1 another. these served spatial , attention tasks respectively. second study utilized same tasks previous, included verbal one. participants had solve math problems , remember particular letter followed each equation. results, 2 researchers questioned if there relationship between noticing particular stimuli , cognitive abilities. instead of other factors contributing working memory of individual s noticing, bredemeier , simons postulated external variables establish appearance of relationship. finally, 2 researchers attempted explain why studies yielding conflicting results. reason why research seems particularly inconclusive might result of disparities between design of actual research. essentially, variety of confounded variables might prevalent across studies when considering methodology , sampling processes. more regulated, large-scale experiment lead more conclusive findings.

expectation

when person expects things happen, he/she tends block out other possibilities. can lead inattentional blindness. example, person x looking friend @ concert, , person knows friend (person y) wearing yellow jacket. in order find person y, person x looks around people wearing yellow. easier pick color out of crowd person. however, if person y took off jacket, there chance person x walk right past person y , not notice because he/she looking yellow jacket. because of expectations, experts more prone inattentional blindness beginners. expert knows expect when situations arise. therefore, expert know for. cause person miss out on other important details he/she may not have been looking for.

capacity

attentional capacity, or neurological salience, measure of how attention must focused complete task. example, expert pianist can play piano without thinking much, beginner have consciously think of every note hit. capacity can lessened drugs, alcohol, fatigue, , age. small capacity, more possible miss things. therefore, if person drunk, he/she miss more sober person would. if attentional capacity large, less experience inattentional blindness.