As if by Magic An Abrupt Change in Motion Direction Induces Change Blindness

• Published in: Psychological science Vol. 30; no. 3; pp. 436 - 443
• Main Authors: Yao, Richard, Wood, Katherine, Simons, Daniel J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA Sage Publications, Inc 01.03.2019; SAGE Publications; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Attention; Attention - physiology; Awareness - physiology; Blindness; Blindness - classification; Blindness - psychology; Changes; Humans; Migrants; Motion; Motion Perception - physiology; Orientation - physiology; Reaction Time; Research Article; Software; Visual Perception - physiology; change blindness; attention; open materials; failures of awareness; motion perception; open data
• ISSN: 0956-7976; 1467-9280; 1467-9280
• DOI: 10.1177/0956797618822969

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.