Core Study 8- Simons and Chabris (C)

Question 1

Background

What did researchers Mack and Rock find about inattentional blindness?

Answer 1

-When attention is focused on one task, observers fail to percieve unexpected object, despite looking at it

Question 2

What was the aim of S+C’s study?

What 3 aspects was the aim in relation to?

Answer 2

-To investigate inattentional blindness in relation to:
-Superimposed events vs live events
-Impact of task difficulty
-Unusualness pf unexpected event

Question 3

What did the sample of S+C’s study consist of?

quantity, sampling technique

Answer 3

-228 undergraduate students
-Volunteer sampling (offered single fee/ candybar)
-only 192 students analysed- created 16 conditions of 12

Question 4

What kind of experiment and experimental design is the study?

Answer 4

-Lab experiment
-Independent measures design

Question 5

What are the IV’s of the study?

16 conditions in total

Answer 5

1. Unexpected event
   -Gorilla suit or umbrella woman
2. Live/ Superimposed event
   -Opaque/ transparent video
3. Task difficulty
   -Hard/ easy ball passes
4. Colour of visual focus
   -White/ black tshirts

e.g. gorilla, opaque, hard, black

Equates to 16 conditions, 12 in each

Question 6

What is the DV of the study?

Answer 6

How many participants noticed the unexpected event (measures by self report)

Question 7

What were the study’s controls?

Answer 7

-all clips= 75 secs
-always same gorilla suit/ umbrella woman
-players always passed 1-2-3

Question 8

What ethics were abided to at the beginning of the procedure?

Answer 8

-informed consent
-brief
(they were told what they’d be watching prior)

Question 9

Procedure

What 3 questions were all participants asked immediately after watching clip?

Answer 9

-Did you notice anything unusual in the video?
-Did you notice anything other than the six players?
-Did you see a gorilla/ umbrella woman?

Question 10

Procedure

How did the end of the procedure abide to ethics?

Answer 10

Participants were debriefed

Question 11

Results

Was the unexpected event noticed by more then 50% or less than 50%

Answer 11

54% noticed, 46% failed to notice the event

Question 12

Was the unexpected event noticed more in the opaque or transparent condition?

Answer 12

Opaque condition
-67%- opaque
-33%- transparent

Question 13

Results

Was the unexpected event noticed more in the easy or hard condition?

Answer 13

Easy condition
-64% easy
-45% hard

Question 14

Was the gorilla noticed more by the black t-shirt team or the white t-shirt team?

Answer 14

Black team
-58%- black
-27%- white

Question 15

Conclusion

Do individuals have inattention blindness genrally?

Answer 15

Yes- it is more potent when engaged in focus activities

Question 16

What was concluded about the impact of inattentional blindness and colour of focus?

Answer 16

We are less likely to be impacted if unexpected info is a similar colour to that we are focusing on

e.g. gorilla noticed more by black team due to paying attention to the players dressed in black