Inattentional Blindness Research Articles

Inattention blindness during walking in people with MS is exacerbated by mobility disability and distraction: Preliminary evidence from a case series

Inattention blindness during walking in people with MS is exacerbated by mobility disability and distraction: Preliminary evidence from a case series

Self-perceptual blindness to mental fatigue in mining workers.

Mental fatigue is a psychophysiological state that adversely impacts performance in cognitive tasks, increasing risk of occupational hazards. Given its manifestation as a conscious sensation, it is often measured through subjective self-report. However, subjective measures are not always true measurements of objective fatigue. In this study, we investigated the relationship between objective and subjective fatigue measurements with the preventive AccessPoint fatigue assay in Chilean mine workers. Subjective fatigue was measured through the Samn-Perelli scale, objective fatigue through a neurocognitive reaction time task. We found that objective and subjective fatigue do not correlate (-0.03 correlation coefficient, p < 0.001). Moreover, severe fatigue cases often displayed absence of subjective fatigue coupled with worse cognitive performance, a phenomenon we denominated Perceptual Blindness to fatigue. These findings highlight the need for objective fatigue measurements, particularly in high-risk occupational settings such as mining. Our results open new avenues for researching mechanisms underlying fatigue perception and its implications for occupational health and safety.

Modifying the Methodology of Letter Cancellation Test for Digital Representation

Standard tools of attention diagnosis have seen only a few attempts of modernization. A theoretical and methodological analysis revealed data contradictions both in assignment and criteria. Digital versions of cognitive diagnostic material could be more objective due to modern hardware and software methods that register psychophysiological indicators. This research was an attempt to digitalize a standard letter variant of letter cancellation test. It involved a theoretical and methodological analysis of attention studies and diagnostic methods. The authors developed new stimulus material for digital attention tests and studied them using oculography. The research involved 90 people (33 men and 57 women) aged 16–70 y.o. The oculography revealed a set of oculomotor reactions that made it possible to describe the peculiarities of attention process and its stages, as well as to establish such a phenomenon as inattention blindness. The experiment also revealed some stable patterns in search strategies and oculomotor reactions that occurred during the testing. While searching for a target stimulus in a limited time, respondents usually employ two basic strategies: 1) they read elementary units of information to integrate them into a single image; 2) they stick to symbolic content with subsequent selective processing to select the target stimulus from the information flow. In this research, however, the participants also used additional strategies: 3) they completely ignored the target word; 4) they reduced the volume of the target stimulus (incomplete response) with its complete detection by oculomotor reactions; 5) they combined elements mechanically; 6) they turned to confabulation.

Why do bats fly into cave doors? Inattentional blindness in echolocating animals.

Echolocating bats can navigate complex 3D environments by integrating prior knowledge of spatial layouts and real-time sensory cues. This study demonstrates that inattentional blindness to sensory information undermines successful navigation in Egyptian fruit bats, Rousettus aegyptiacus , a species that has access to vision and echolocation to traverse natural environments. Bats flew over repeated trials to a perch at a fixed location in the light, allowing them to navigate using both vision and echolocation. The experiment was then repeated in the dark to exclude the bat's use of vision. The perch was subsequently displaced by either 15 or 30 cm in one of six different directions (up, down, left, right, front, back). Echolocation behavior was recorded using a 25-channel microphone array, while flight paths were tracked using 13 motion capture cameras. The directional aim of echolocation clicks served as a metric for the bat's spatial attention to locations in their environment. In the light, bats modified their flight paths to successfully land on a perch that was moved 15 cm but surprisingly, often failed to land on it when displaced by 30 cm. In the dark, bats often failed to land on the perch after it was moved by only 15 cm. Landing failures suggest that learned spatial priors invoked inattentional blindness to changes in the environment, which interfered with successful navigation. In both the light and dark, when bats failed to land on the perch at its new location, they directed their attention toward the original perch position. Performance differences in the light and dark suggest that the bat's attentional spotlight may be narrower when it relies on echolocation than vision. To our knowledge, these findings provide the first evidence of inattentional blindness in a flying echolocating animal, demonstrating that spatial priors can dominate sensory processing during navigation.

The invisible gorilla in the cath lab: can we fly away from it?

The invisible gorilla in the cath lab: can we fly away from it?

Asymmetry for shading direction in visual search persists in inattentional blindness

Asymmetry for shading direction in visual search persists in inattentional blindness

Sensitivity to highly salient features in dynamic inattentional blindness

Sensitivity to highly salient features in dynamic inattentional blindness

The Effect of Dynamic Effects and Color Transparency of AR-HUD Navigation Graphics on Driving Behavior Regarding Inattentional Blindness

In-vehicle Augmented Reality Head-Up Displays (AR-HUDs) offer drivers integrated navigation and vehicle status information, thereby improving the driving experience. Many studies explored the effects of AR-HUD navigation design and information presentation on driving performance; however, these studies neglected the occurrence of inattentional blindness, which may lead to potential safety hazards. This study used a two-factor within-subjects design to investigate how dynamic effects (pulsation, blinking, movement) and color transparency levels (T1, T0.75, T0.5, T0.35) of AR-HUD navigation graphics influence inattentional blindness and user experience. The results indicated that color transparency significantly affects the drivers’ inattentional blindness behavior and user experience. Specifically, T0.75 resulted in the lowest inattentional blindness, while T0.5 was associated with the shortest reaction time (without blindness) and highest user satisfaction. Dynamic effects did not significantly impact inattentional blindness, but blinking reduced reaction time (without blindness). This study provides design insights for vehicle AR-HUD navigation interfaces.

No electrophysiological evidence for semantic processing during inattentional blindness

A long-standing question concerns whether sensory input can reach semantic stages of processing in the absence of attention and awareness. Here, we examine whether the N400, an event related potential associated with semantic processing, can occur under conditions of inattentional blindness. By employing a novel three-phase inattentional blindness paradigm designed to maximise the opportunity for detecting an N400, we found no evidence for it when participants were inattentionally blind to the eliciting stimuli (related and unrelated word pairs). In contrast, participants noticed the same task-irrelevant word pairs when minimal attention was allocated to them, and a small N400 became evident. When the same stimuli were fully attended and relevant to the task, a robust N400 was observed. In addition to univariate ERP measures, multivariate decoding analyses were unable to classify related from unrelated word pairs when observers were inattentionally blind to the words, with decoding reaching above-chance levels only when the words were (at least minimally) attended. By comparison, decoding reached above-chance levels when contrasting word pairs with non-word stimuli, even when participants were inattentionally blind to these stimuli. Our results also replicated several previous studies by finding a “visual awareness negativity” (VAN) that distinguished task-irrelevant stimuli that participants noticed compared with those that were not perceived, and a P3b (or “late positivity”) that was evident only when the stimuli were task relevant. Together, our findings suggest that semantic processing might require at least a minimal amount of attention.

Multitasking Induced Contextual Blindness.

To examine the impact of secondary task performance on contextual blindness arising from the suppression and masking of temporal and spatial sequence learning. Dual-task scenarios can lead to a diminished ability to use environmental cues to guide attention, a phenomenon that is related to multitasking-induced inattentional blindness. This research aims to extend the theoretical understanding of how secondary tasks can impair attention and memory processes in sequence learning and access. We conducted three experiments. In Experiment 1, we used a serial reaction time task to investigate the impact of a secondary tone counting task on temporal sequence learning. In Experiment 2, we used a contextual cueing task to examine the effects of dual-task performance on spatial cueing. In Experiment 3, we integrated and extended these concepts to a simulated driving task. Across the experiments, the performance of a secondary task consistently suppressed (all experiments) and masked task learning (experiments 1 and 3). In the serial response and spatial search tasks, dual-task conditions reduced the accrual of sequence knowledge and impaired knowledge expression. In the driving simulation, similar patterns of learning suppression from multitasking were also observed. The findings suggest that secondary tasks can significantly suppress and mask sequence learning in complex tasks, leading to a form of contextual blindness characterized by impairments in the ability to use environmental cues to guide attention and anticipate future events. These findings have implications for both skill acquisition and skilled performance in complex domains such as driving, aviation, manufacturing, and human-computer interaction.

When the WRENCH turns a few heads: Expectation and semantic relatedness in inattentional blindness

Semantic relatedness and expectation were investigated in inattentional blindness—failure to perceive an unexpected object in plain sight when attention is engaged elsewhere. Participants named primary-task pictures and ignored distractor pictures. Four trials preceded a ‘critical’ trial where an unexpected six-letter-word appeared at fixation, simultaneously with the pictures. In Experiment 1, we found robust effects for both in-lab and on-line-Zoom methodology. More participants reported the unexpected word semantically-related to the primary-task pictures than a semantically-unrelated word. In Experiment 2, expectations were violated, by changing the semantic category of the primary-task pictures. More participants reported the unexpected word semantically-related to the unexpected picture category than a semantically-unrelated word. When attentional resources are consumed by a task, a violation to task expectations is not enough to reorient attention to an unexpected word. Attention reorients to what is meaningful to the task, and what is meaningful is updated in light of unexpected information.

Familiarity Alters the Bandwidth of Perceptual Awareness.

Results from paradigms like change blindness and inattentional blindness indicate that observers are unaware of numerous aspects of the visual world. However, intuition suggests that perceptual experience is richer than these results indicate. Why does it feel like we see so much when the data suggests we see so little? One possibility stems from the fact that experimental studies always present observers with stimuli that they have never seen before. Meanwhile, when forming intuitions about perceptual experience, observers reflect on their experiences with scenes with which they are highly familiar (e.g., their office). Does prior experience with a scene change the bandwidth of perceptual awareness? Here, we asked if observers were better at noticing alterations to the periphery in familiar scenes compared with unfamiliar scenes. Here, we found that observers noticed changes to the periphery more frequently with familiar stimuli. Signal detection theoretic analyses revealed that when observers are unfamiliar with a stimulus, they are less sensitive at noticing (d') and are more conservative in their response criterion (c). Taken together, these results suggest that prior knowledge expands the bandwidth of perceptual awareness. It should be stressed that these results challenge the widely held idea that prior knowledge fills in perception. Overall, these findings highlight how prior knowledge plays an important role in determining the limits of perceptual experience and is an important factor to consider when attempting to reconcile the tension between empirical observation and personal introspection.

Identifying intraoperative events in a simulated laparotomy video: a multinational study of inattentional blindness among anesthesiologists.

Medical errors may be occasionally explained by inattentional blindness (IB), i.e., failing to notice an event/object that is in plain sight. We aimed to determine whether age/experience, restfulness/fatigue, and previous exposure to simulation education may affect IB in the anesthetic/surgical setting. In this multicentre/multinational study, a convenience sample of 280 anesthesiologists watched an attention-demanding video of a simulated trauma patient undergoing laparotomy and (independently/anonymously) recorded the abnormalities they noticed. The video contained four expected/common abnormalities (hypotension, tachycardia, hypoxia, hypothermia) and two prominently displayed unexpected/rare events (patient's head movement, leaky central venous line). We analyzed the participants' ability to notice the expected/unexpected events (primary outcome) and the proportion of expected/unexpected events according to age group and prior exposure to simulation education (secondary outcomes). Anesthesiologists across all ages noticed fewer unexpected/rare events than expected/common ones. Overall, younger anesthesiologists missed fewer common events than older participants did (P = 0.02). There was no consistent association between age and perception of unexpected/rare events (P = 0.28), although the youngest cohort (< 30yr) outperformed the other age groups. Prior simulation education did not affect the proportion of misses for the unexpected/rare events but was associated with fewer misses for the expected/common events. Self-perceived restfulness did not impact perception of events. Anesthesiologists noticed fewer unexpected/rare clinical events than expected/common ones in an attention-demanding video of a simulated trauma patient, in keeping with IB. Prior simulation training was associated with an improved ability to notice anticipated/expected events, but did not reduce IB. Our findings may have implications for understanding medical mishaps, and efforts to improve situational awareness, especially in acute perioperative and critical care settings.

Feasibility and Usability of Augmented Reality Technology in the Orthopaedic Operating Room.

Augmented reality (AR)has gained popularity in various sectors,including gaming, entertainment, and healthcare. The desire for improved surgical navigation within orthopaedic surgery has led to the evaluation of the feasibility and usability of AR in the operating room (OR). However, the safe and effective use of ARtechnologyin the OR necessitates a proper understanding of its capabilities and limitations. This review aims to describe the fundamental elements of AR, highlight limitations for use within the field of orthopaedic surgery, and discuss potential areas for development. To date, studies have demonstrated evidence that AR technology can be used to enhance navigation and performance in orthopaedic procedures. General hardware and software limitations of the technology include the registration process, ergonomics, and battery life. Other limitations are related to the human response factors such as inattentional blindness,which may lead to the inability to see complications within the surgical field. Furthermore, the prolonged use of AR can causeeye strain and headache due to phenomena such as thevergence-convergence conflict. AR technology may prove to be abetter alternative to current orthopaedic surgery navigation systems. However, the current limitations should be mitigated to further improve the feasibility and usability of AR in the OR setting. It is important for both non-clinicians and clinicians to work in conjunction to guide the development of future iterations of AR technology and its implementation into the OR workflow.

On investigating drivers’ attention allocation during partially-automated driving

The use of partially-automated systems require drivers to supervise the system functioning and resume manual control whenever necessary. Yet literature on vehicle automation show that drivers may spend more time looking away from the road when the partially-automated system is operational. In this study we answer the question of whether this pattern is a manifestation of inattentional blindness or, more dangerously, it is also accompanied by a greater attentional processing of the driving scene. Participants drove a simulated vehicle in manual or partially-automated mode. Fixations were recorded by means of a head-mounted eye-tracker. A surprise two-alternative forced-choice recognition task was administered at the end of the data collection whereby participants were quizzed on the presence of roadside billboards that they encountered during the two drives. Data showed that participants were more likely to fixate and recognize billboards when the automated system was operational. Furthermore, whereas fixations toward billboards decreased toward the end of the automated drive, the performance in the recognition task did not suffer. Based on these findings, we hypothesize that the use of the partially-automated driving system may result in an increase in attention allocation toward peripheral objects in the road scene which is detrimental to the drivers’ ability to supervise the automated system and resume manual control of the vehicle.

Using virtual reality to induce multi-trial inattentional blindness despite trial-by-trial measures of awareness

Unconscious processing has been widely examined using diverse and well-controlled methodologies. However, the extent to which these findings are relevant to real-life instances of information processing without awareness is limited. Here, we present a novel inattentional blindness (IB) paradigm in virtual reality (VR). In three experiments, we managed to repeatedly induce IB while participants foveally viewed salient stimuli for prolonged durations. The effectiveness of this paradigm demonstrates the close relationship between top-down attention and subjective experience. Thus, this method provides an ecologically valid setup to examine processing without awareness.

Social inattentional blindness to idea stealing in meetings

Using a virtual reality social experiment, participants (N = 154) experienced being at the table during a decision-making meeting and identified the best solutions generated. During the meeting, one meeting participant repeated another participant’s idea, presenting it as his own. Although this idea stealing was clearly visible and audible, only 30% of participants correctly identified who shared the idea first. Subsequent analyses suggest that the social environment affected this novel form of inattentional blindness. Although there was no experimental effect of team diversity on noticing, there was correlational evidence of an indirect effect of perceived team status on noticing via attentional engagement. In sum, this paper extends the inattentional blindness phenomenon to a realistic professional interaction and demonstrates how features of the social environment can reduce social inattention.

‘Perced to the Roote’: Refugee Tales and the Poetics of In/Visibility

Abstract In their aim to give a voice to those that are unheard and unseen in society, to refugees and detainees, Refugee Tales aim at countering practices of invisibilisation, especially in connection with UK immigration politics. While this might suggest a focus on narrative as a tool for communicating the untold, Refugee Tales I–IV (2016–2021) exceed this important, yet unsurprising role of narrative by unfolding the ‘making’ of invisibility. This is suggested, for instance, by the politics of adaptation and the in/visible intertext The Canterbury Tales, or by the (productive) paradox that most tales are in fact ‘translations’ penned by renowned writers, such as David Herd, Patience Agbabi, or Ali Smith. This article explores the poetics of invisibility in Refugee Tales by examining their specific (attentional) design. As I argue, these tales draw on tensions of in/visibility to unveil key instances of inattentional blindness in literature, culture, and society, challenging the relation between the seen and the unseen, between what is considered visible or invisible.

Invisibility or Blindness? On Attention, the Unseen, and the Seen

ABSTRACT: Both not seeing what is perfectly visible and seeing something other than what is there are surprisingly common occurrences in our normal perceptual lives. One is a case of phenomenal invisibility, while the other is a case of misperception. When we do not see what is there or see something other than what is there, it is frequently the result of the same visual processes that are responsible for our seeing what is there. These phenomena are discussed, and the parallel between one of them, inattentional blindness, our failure to see what is there when we are not paying attention to it, is likened to our failure to see those we consider "other," revealing how our prejudices influence what we see and what we don't.

Are Familiar Objects More Likely to Be Noticed in an Inattentional Blindness Task?

People often fail to notice the presence of unexpected objects when their attention is engaged elsewhere. In dichotic listening tasks, for example, people often fail to notice unexpected content in the ignored speech stream even though they occasionally do notice highly familiar stimuli like their own name (the "cocktail party" effect). Some of the first studies of inattentional blindness were designed as a visual analog of such dichotic listening studies, but relatively few inattentional blindness studies have examined how familiarity affects noticing. We conducted four preregistered inattentional blindness experiments (total N = 1700) to examine whether people are more likely to notice a familiar unexpected object than an unfamiliar one. Experiment 1 replicated evidence for greater noticing of upright schematic faces than inverted or scrambled ones. Experiments 2-4 tested whether participants from different pairs of countries would be more likely to notice their own nation's flag or petrol company logo than those of another country. These experiments repeatedly found little or no evidence that familiarity affects noticing rates for unexpected objects. Frequently encountered and highly familiar stimuli do not appear to overcome inattentional blindness.