Final answer:
Selective attention is deliberate concentration on one thing while ignoring something else. Inattentional blindness is the failure to notice something visible due to focused attention elsewhere. When a red cross passed across the screen, about one third of the subjects did not notice it, demonstrating another aspect of inattentional blindness.
Step-by-step explanation:
Selective attention is best defined as deliberate concentration on one thing while ignoring something else. In a study conducted by Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris, participants were asked to count the number of times a team dressed in white passed a basketball. Despite a gorilla walking among the teams, nearly half of the participants did not notice it because they were so focused on counting passes.
This phenomenon is known as inattentional blindness, which occurs when someone fails to notice something that is completely visible because their attention is directed elsewhere. In a similar experiment, participants were asked to focus on either white or black objects while disregarding the other color. When a red cross passed across the screen, about one third of the subjects did not notice it, demonstrating another aspect of inattentional blindness.