Inattentional blindness
Inattentional blindness (pronounced: in-uh-ten-shuh-nuhl blind-nis) is a psychological phenomenon where an individual fails to perceive an unexpected stimulus that is in plain sight. This term is often used in the field of Cognitive Psychology and Neuroscience.
Etymology
The term "Inattentional blindness" was coined by Arien Mack and Irvin Rock in 1992. It is derived from the words 'inattentional', which means not giving attention, and 'blindness', which refers to the inability to see.
Definition
Inattentional blindness is a lack of attention that is not associated with any vision defects or deficits. It may be further defined as the event in which an individual fails to recognize an unexpected stimulus that is in plain sight. This typically happens when the individual is engaged in a task that requires a high level of attention.
Causes
The primary cause of inattentional blindness is the overloading of the attentional resources that the brain has at its disposal. When an individual is deeply engrossed in a task, the brain tends to ignore or overlook other stimuli. This is a result of the brain's selective attention process, which allows us to focus on a specific aspect of our environment while ignoring others.
Related Terms
- Selective Attention: The process by which individuals focus on one particular item or task while ignoring others.
- Change Blindness: A perceptual phenomenon where a change in a visual stimulus goes unnoticed by the observer.
- Cognitive Load: The total amount of mental effort being used in the working memory.
See Also
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Inattentional blindness
- Wikipedia's article - Inattentional blindness
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