Reactive Task-Set Switching Ability,Not Working Memory Capacity,Predicts Change Blindness Sensitivity

Abstract

Individual differences in working memory capacity (WMC) have been shown to predict how well people perform tasks that require directed attention, but the individual differences responsible for task-set switching and noticing behaviors are less well understood. In this study, 86 undergraduate students from California State University, Northridge completed a measure of WMC, a measure of cognitive flexibility, and attempted to identify disappearing objects in change-blindness slides. WMC was not related to our measure of cognitive flexibility or change detection, but cognitive flexibility was directly correlated with the ability to notice change. The findings suggest that the ability to notice sudden changes in an environment, an ability that is of paramount importance for the safe operation of complex machinery and systems, may be supported by individual differences that are independent of WMC.