I Was Blind but Now I See

Abstract

Previous inattentional blindness research suggests that unexpected events may be cognitively processed atsome level, but typically have difficulty reaching consciousness. The present study aims to investigate ifand how primary-task relevance of an unexpected event contributes to individuals’ ability to thoroughly process and subsequently identify the event. Participants performed a dynamic, computer-based target-monitoring task, in which unexpected events occasionally occurred. Primary task performance and theability to correctly identify unexpected changes were recorded. Results indicate that when unexpectedevents contained information that was relevant to the primary target-monitoring task, they were morefrequently identified. Additionally, in conditions of task relevance, participants were more confident intheir ability to recognize unexpected events accurately. Applications of these data include interface design,improved safety in highway design, and enhanced training programs for dynamic visual monitoring taskssuch as air traffic control.