Question

Participants are asked to report the shape of a visual stimulus that appears on the left side of a screen. Simultaneous with the presentation of this target stimulus, a second visual stimulus is flashed on the screen. Based on our understanding of inattentional blindness, which of the following is NOT sufficient to make the participants notice the second stimulusa. Participants are told beforehand where, but not when, the second stimulus will appear.

b. Participants' eyes are oriented toward the place where the second stimulus appears.
c. Participants are told beforehand only that something else might appear.
d. Participants' attention is directed to the place where the second stimulus appears.

Answer 1

Answer: B. Participants' eyes are oriented toward the place where the second stimulus appears

Explanation: Since inattentional blindness occurs when the participants are directed to the attention or perception of a particular stimulus, a particular colour, shape, etc. is emphasised. If participants are merely directed to the part of the screen where another stimulus will appear and they are not told anything about that stimulus, then it is not enough for participants to notice the other stimulus, since their attention is already influenced by a specific explanation. They simply do not have an assumption about another stimulus in their "directed" perception.