From: The New York Times
Why We Miss Objects That Are Right in Front of Us
Easy right? But do you see the other toothbrush in the image as well?
Most people will quickly spot the toothbrush on the front of the counter, but take longer — or even fail to find — the much bigger one behind it.
The oversight has to do with scale. People have a tendency to miss objects when their size is inconsistent with their surroundings, according to a recent study in Current Biology. This is just the latest in a robust body of research that reveals how expectations dramatically affect our ability to notice what’s around us.
Though the image above was provided by the authors of the study to illuminate their point, the study was set up slightly differently. The researchers were interested not only in what people saw — but also in how their performance compared with computers.
…
“What we pay attention to is largely determined by our expectations of what should be present,” said Christopher Chabris, a cognitive psychologist and co-author of The Invisible Gorilla.
Relative size is just one of many pieces of information that contribute to our expectations. Without expecting something, we’re unlikely to pay attention to it, he says, and “when we are not paying attention to something, we are surprisingly likely to not see it.”
Read the whole story (subscription may be required): The New York Times
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