As if by Magic: An Abrupt Change in Motion Direction Induces Change Blindness
Richard Yao, Katherine Wood, Daniel J. Simons
Psychological Science · 2019 · Volume 30 · Issue 3
Abstract
Magicians claim that an abrupt change in the direction of movement can attract attention, allowing them to hide their method for a trick in plain sight. In three experiments involving 43 total subjects, we tested this claim by examining whether a sudden directional change can induce change blindness. Subjects were asked to detect an instantaneous orientation change of a single item in an array of Gabor patches; this change occurred as the entire array moved across the display. Subjects consistently spotted the change if it occurred while the array moved along a straight path but missed it when it occurred as the array changed direction. This method of inducing change blindness leaves the object in full view during the change; requires no additional distractions, visual occlusion, or global transients; and worked in every subject tested here. This phenomenon joins a body of magic-inspired work that yields insights into perception and attention.
Keywords
attention, failures of awareness, change blindness, motion perception, open data, open materials
Enable JavaScript for citation tools and additional paper interactions.