Individual and Team Susceptibility to Change Blindness

Abstract

Individual operators in command and control environments are susceptible to change blindness. Change blindness by teams of operators, which is typical in military command and control, has not been extensively studied. This experiment investigated change blindness in individuals and teams in a simulated military command and control situation display. Subjects completed a change-detection task individually or in three-person teams. In one team condition team members could actively communicate with each other, but in another condition they could not. The change-detection task involved monitoring flicker sequences of displays containing 6, 12, 24, or 48 icons for changes in icon position. Results revealed a team advantage that was more pronounced when teams communicated. Communicating teams had higher overall correct detection rates (mean = 95%) than both non-communicating triads (mean = 80%) and individuals (mean = 79%). Teams were susceptible to change blindness just as individuals were, but teamwork and communication were beneficial in reducing change blindness susceptibility. Communicating teams also experienced lower global workload (mean = 24.08) than non-communicating triads (mean = 38.44) and individuals (mean = 47.18). This research highlights the importance of teamwork and communication in reducing change blindness and workload in a command and control environment. The findings can be used to facilitate development of methods and tools for reducing individual and team change blindness susceptibility.